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The 

hools  and  the 
Teachers  of 
Early  Pepria  . 


By  H.  W.  WELLS 


Peoria,  III.: 

JACQU1N  &  CO. 

1900. 


Press  of 

SMITH  &SCHAEFER 
Peoria,  III. 


THE  SCHOOL  HOUSE  OF  1821. 


There  in  his  noisy  mansion,  skilled  to  rule, 
The  village  master  taught  his  little  school. 
—Goldsmith. 


PREFACE. 

This  book  is  altogether  made 
up  from  the  recollection  of  teach- 
ers and  pupils  of  the  long  ago. 
These  were  private  schools  that 
there  were  never  any  records  kept 
of,  and  of  course  traditions  grow 
dim  as  the  years  run  away.  One 
remembers  a  circumstance  one  way 
another  remembers  it  differently. 
This  difference  in  recollection  ap- 
plies especially  to  dates  and  more 
or  Jess  to  all  other  circumstances 
here  related,  and  of  course  many 

vii 

MI71737 


PREFACE 

errors  must  have  crept  in  and  some 
teachers  entirely  forgotten.  The 
book,  however,  is  as  near  correct 
as  I  could  make  it,  and  with  this 
apology  it  is  submitted  to  the  con- 
siderate judgment  of  the  surviving 
teachers  and  pupils  in  the  schools 
of  lang-syne  and  their  friends  who 
may  read  its  pages. 

Almost  80  years  have  elapsed 
since  the  first  school  was  opened 
in  Peoria,  of  that  school,  the  teach- 
er and  the  pupils  all,  save  one,  are 
long  dead  and  gone.  Concerning 
the  next  school,  not  a  line  of  its 
history  has  ever  been  written;  the 
teacher  and  all  the  pupils  are  dead 
or  gone;  every  recollection  of  it 
has  vanished  beyond  recall,  in  fact 
its  existence  was  discovered  by  ac- 
cident, and  yet  the  children,  or 
grandchildren  of  any  teacher  or 
pupil  of  any  of  those  old  schools 
would  read  with  interest  any  ac- 

vlii 


PREFACE 

count  of  them,  were  it  possible  any 
might  be  found.  This  book  con- 
tains the  traditions  of  many  schools 
gathered  from  hundreds  of  differ- 
ent sources.  The  recollections  are 
dim  and  will  soon  be  forgotten. 
Perhaps  something  here  written 
which  may  recall  to  some  gray- 
headed  father,  or  some  matronly 
lady  the  pleasant  recollections  of 
their  younger  days  as  school  chil- 
dren, when  everything  looked 
bright  and  all  the  way  was  along  a 
path  strewn  with  flowers.  In  the 
hope  that  it  may  do  so  I  have  writ- 
ten these  lines. 


ix 


INTRODUCTORY  LETTER 

BY 
N.  C.  DAUOHERTY. 

The  lower  animals  make  no  pro- 
gress; they  have  no  history;  they 
have  no  records;  they  have  nothing 
that  could  be  recorded  or  that  could 
constitute  a  history.  Each  gener- 
ation moves  on  in  precisely  the 
same  path  as  its  predecessor,  just 
as  we  see  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
to-day  precisely  the  same  method 
of  irrigation  in  process  with  the 
help  of  man  or  beast  as  we  find 
pictured  in  the  temple,  pictures 

xi 


INTRODUCTORY    I,ETTER 

that  have  stood  there  for  thousands 
of  years.  Each  generation  is  the 
trustee  of  a  civilization;  and  each 
generation  owes  it  to  itself  and  to 
posterity  and  to  civilization  to  pro- 
tect it  and  to  enrich  it  and  to  trans- 
mit it;  and  the  only  institution  that 
mankind  has  worked  out  for  that 
purpose  is  the  institution  known  as 
education.  That  institution  is  the 
one  which  in  this  century  attracts 
of  all  institutions  the  most  thought, 
which  is  receiving  the  most  careful 
consideration  from  the  world's 
great  thinkers  to-day  and  which  is 
likely  to  deepen  and  widen  in  its 
scope  with  the  coming  years.  It 
is  the  record  of  this  institution  in 
our  own  city  of  which  this  book 
treats. 

Anything  which  enables  us  to 
compare  the  present  with  the  past 
in  the  history  of  education  must  be 
not  only  profitable,  but  interesting. 
Independent  of  the  satisfaction  to 

xli 


INTRODUCTORY    I.ETTER 

be  derived  from  recalling  old  and 
almost  forgotten  associations,  his- 
tory sets  up  for  us  land  marks  to 
indicate  the  progress,  which  we 
have  made;  we  may  sum  up  the 
work  which  has  been  done  and  es- 
timate the  position  we  occupy. 

Compare  the  school  of  1821,  its 
one  room  log  shanty,  one  log  cut 
out  and  greased  paper  to  admit 
the  light,  its  puncheon  door,  its 
mud  and  stick  chimney,  its  indiffer- 
ent accommodations  for  a  dozen 
pupils,  with  the  school  house  of 
1900.  We  may  gain  some  idea  of 
the  progress  that  has  been  made 
in  the  last  79  years.  The  steps  from 
1821  to  1900  is  each  represented  in 
the  pages  before  us.  The  school 
house  of  1821,  the  school  house  of 
1846,  the  school  house  of  1848,  the 
boys  stock  school  of  1854  and  the 
school  house  of  1900 — each  step 
indicates  advancement.  At  the 
present  time  the  public  schools  are, 

xiii 


INTRODUCTORY 

and  for  more  than  45  years  have 
been  under  the  direction  of  one 
independent  authority  elected  by 
the  people.  The  school  inspectors 
occupy  the  place  of  school  direc- 
tors; the  parents  furnish  the  means 
in  the  public  taxes  and  the  inspec- 
tors are  charged  with  the  duty  of 
wisely  expending  them,  tested  by 
45  years  experience  this  is  one  of 
the  best  systems  yet  devised  for 
the  maintenance  of  schools. 

The  early  schools  were  in  all  ca- 
ses private  or  select  schools.  A 
few  families  living  near  each  other 
felt  the  necessity  of  schooling  their 
children  and  casting  about  they  se- 
lected one  of  their  number  as 
teacher.  These  teachers  were  as 
a  rule  not  scholars,  but  they  could 
teach  the  simple  elements  of  com- 
mon school  education,  and  that  was 
ample  for  those  who  could  do  no 
better.  There  were  no  public 
schools  and  no  public  money  and 

xiv 


INTRODUCTORY 

no  qualified  teacher  for  many  long 
years  after,  and  of  course  no  record 
of  these  schools  has  been  preserved. 
It  is  the  history  of  these  private  or 
neighborhood  schools,  which  is  re- 
lated in  these  pages  and  which 
gives  it  its  value.  This  history 
should  have  been  written  years 
ago,  when  the  recollections  were 
fresh  and  green.  In  a  few  years  it 
will  all  be  forgotten.  This  publi- 
cation is  undertaken  at  the  latest 
day  that  such  a  history  was  possi- 
ble, just  before  it  fades  out  and  is 
gone  forever.  The  author  and 
publisher  deserve  thanks  of  the 
public  for  their  work. 

N.  C.  DAUGHERTY, 

Superintendent  of  Public 

Instruction. 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  TEACHERS 
OF  EARLY  PEORIA. 


THE  history  of  the  early  schools 
in  Peoria  exists  almost  alto- 
gether in  traditions  which  are  fast 
fading  out.  Almost  all  the  teach- 
ers and  a  large  majority  of  the  pu- 
pils are  dead  or  have  left  Peoria. 
The  subject  is  one  which,  except  at 
the  time,  excited  little  general  in- 
terest and  was  seldom  mentioned 
afterwards.  There  was  no  school 
in  or  near  Peoria  before  1821,  more 
likely  not  before  1822.  The  Indi- 
ans certainly  had  no  schools  or 
school  houses.  So  of  the  French, 
nothing  ever  knowrn  of  them  in- 
duces any  suspicion  that  they  had 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

either  schools  or  teachers  at  any 
time  during  their  occupation  of  the 
valley  of  the  Illinois. 

The  Americans,  the  English 
speaking  people,  brought  with  them 
to  the  Garden  of  the  World  the 
first  idea  of  school  and  school 
teachers. 

The  first  schools  were  for  many 
years  select  or  private  schools 
where  the  tuition  was  paid  by  the 
parents  or  guardians  of  the  schol- 
ars, usually  about  two  and  a  half 
or  three  dollars  each  scholar  for 
each  term  of  three  months.  This 
select  or  private  school  was  the 
only  course  followed  for  many 
years. 

The  General  Government  in 
1818,  in  the  act  admitting  Illinois 
into  the  Union  made  liberal  pro- 
vision for  free  schools  by  reserving 
Section  16  in  each  Township  for 
that  purpose,  with  five  per  cent  of 


TEACHERS  OF  EARLY  PEORIA. 

the  proceeds  of  land  sold,  two-fiths 
of  which  was  to  be  expended  for 
roads  and  three-fifths  for  schools 
and  a  college  or  university. 

It  has  been  stated  that  Illinois  is 
indebted  to  John  Pope  for  this  pro- 
vision. The  statement,  however, 
is  incorrect.  In  May,  1785,  Con- 
gress passed  an  act  for  disposing 
of  the  land  in  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory, and  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr.  Madison  and 
Mr.  Dane,  and  others,  it  was  pro- 
vided, "There  shall  be  reserved  the 
Lot  No.  16  in  every  Township  for 
the  maintenance  of  schools  in  said 
Township."  Illinois  received  un- 
der this  distribution  985,066  acres, 
together  with  480,000  acres  for 
which  script  was  issued  to  this 
State,  making  a  total  of  1,465,066 
acres — almost  an  Empire.  Illinois 
through  a  short  sightedness  ,which 
is  much  to  be  regretted,  sold  the 


THK  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

most  of  these  lands  at  a  small  price 
and  thereby  lost  the  magnificent 
provisions  for  free  schools  at  a 
later  date. 

At  the  date  of  her  admission  all 
the  machinery  of  government  was 
new  and  very  rough.  It  was  not 
until  January,  1825,  that  the  Legis- 
lature passed  a  law  establishing 
free  schools  in  Illinois.  The  law  is 
given  in  the  appendix.  This  was 
the  first  law  on  our  statute  books 
establishing  fiee  schools.  It  would 
be  thought  crude,  in  the  light  of 
seventy-five  years,  which  have 
elapsed  since  its  passage.  Its  rather 
high  sounding  preamble  provokes 
a  smile,  but  it  is  an  approving 
smile,  and  the  declaration  there- 
in "That  the  mind  of  every  citizen 
in  a  republic  of  ours,  is  the  com- 
mon property  of  society"  has  our 
hearty  approval.  It  distinctly  fore- 
shadows the  principle  of  compul- 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA 

sory  education  which  Illinois  did 
not  attempt  to  enforce  until  more 
than  fifty  years  later.  The  tax  to 
pay  teachers  "in  produce",  not  un- 
usual at  that  day,  with  a  provision 
for  assigning  the  tax  list  and  war- 
rant for  collection  to  the  teacher, 
to  be  levied  and  collected  by  him, 
with  the  probable  disagreement 
about  the  prices  at  which  he  should 
accept  what  was  tendered,  would 
seem  a  queer  and  unusual  proceed- 
ing at  the  present  date  and  would 
hardly  satisfy  teachers  now. 

The  provision  in  the  law  of 
1827,  that  no  one  should  be  assess- 
ed unless  he  had  signified  in  writ- 
ing his  willingness  to  pay,  and  in  no 
event  more  than  $10.00  in  any  one 
year,  and  that  no  person  should  be 
permitted  to  send  a  child  to  school, 
unless  he  had  consented  to  be  tax- 
ed, might  possibly  not  give  entire 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THK 
satisfaction  to  some  of  our  citizens 
at  this  date. 

The  Bill  for  the  act  of  1825  re- 
ferred to,  was  introduced  in  the 
Senate  by  the  Committee  on  semi- 
nary lands  and  education,  Decem- 
ber i,  1824,  by  Joseph  Duncan, 
chairman,  then  Senator  from  Ran- 
dolph County,  who  was  undoubt- 
edly the  author  of  the  law.  The 
law  was  an  excellent  one  for  the 
times  and  schools  would  have  pros- 
pered under  it,  but  the  notion  of  a 
tax  to  support  schools  was  hateful 
to  a  politician  of  that  date  and  the 
Legislature  soon  after  repealed  it. 
Subsequent  attempts  at  the  school 
law  were  made,  but  Illinois  was  for 
many  years  without  any  good 
school  law. 

R.  W.  Paterson,  who  was  a  citi- 
zen of  Southern  Illinois  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  early  society 
in  this  State,  in  an  address  before 

6 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI/V  PEORIA. 

the  Historical  Society  of  Chicago, 
in  1880,  said,  "During  the  early 
history  of  Illinois  schools  were  al- 
most unknown.  In  the  most  fa- 
vored districts  they  were  kept  up 
solely  by  subscription  and  only  in 
the  winter  season,  each  subscriber 
agreeing  to  pay  for  his  children 
pro  rata  for  the  number  of  days 
they  should  be  in  attendance.  The 
teacher  usually  drew  up  an  article 
of  agreement  which  stipulated  that 
the  school  should  be  commenced 
when  a  specified  number  of  schol- 
ars should  be  subscribed,  at  the  rate 
of  two  and  a  half  or  three  dollars 
per  quarter.  In  these  written  ar- 
ticles the  teacher  bound  himself 
to  teach  spelling,  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic  as  far  as  the  double 
rule  of  three.  The  mode  of  con- 
ducting schools  at  that  day  was  pe- 
culiar, all  the  pupils  studied  their 
lessons  by  reading  or  spelling  aloud 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

simultaneously,  while  the  teacher 
heard  each  scholar  recite  alone. 
At  the  opening  of  the  school  a 
chapter  of  the  Bible  was  read  by 
the  older  scholars  by  verses  in 
turn.  At  the  close  of  the  school  in 
the  evening,  the  whole  school,  ex- 
cept the  beginners,  stood  up  and 
spelled  the  words  in  turn  as  given 
out  by  the  Master.  In  those  early 
days  the  school  house  was  in  al- 
most every  instance  built  of  logs; 
the  books  in  use  were  usually  Web- 
ster's Spelling  Book,  Murray's  Eng- 
lish Reader  and  Pike's  or  Dabold's 
Arithmetic." 

It  was  amusing  to  a  person  of 
ordinary  education,  to  listen  to  the 
pretentious,  but  erroneous  use  of 
language,  that  was  indulged  in  by 
men  who  were  ambitious  to  be 
thought  more  learned  than  their 
neighbors.  One  gentleman  in 
speaking  of  a  young  man  who  had 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

gone  from  his  neighborhood,  to  at- 
tend some  college  in  the  East,  re- 
marked, that  he  could  not  judge 
"How  well  the  young  man  might 
succeed  as  a  public  speaker,  but 
there  was  no  doubt  he  would  make 
a  very  "superficial  scholar/' 

These  were  but  the  beginnings, 
— our  early  days  as  a  State.  The 
population  of  Illinois  in  1820  was 
fifty-five  thousand  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five.  Peoria  now  con- 
tains more  inhabitants  than  the  en- 
tire State  did  then.  It  is  probable 
that  one  of  our  school  houses  in 
Peoria,  now  contains  more  room 
and  certainly  infinitely  better  school 
accommodations  than  all  the  school 
houses  in  the  State  did  then,  while 
the  method  of  teaching  and  the 
qualifications  of  teachers  is  now  in- 
comparably superior. 

As  has  already  been  stated,  much 
the  largest  part  of  the  history  of 


'THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

schools  in  early  Peoria,  exists  only 
in  the  recollection  of  the  surviving 
teachers  and  scholars.  Johnson's 
History  says,  "For  a  good  many 
years  after  the  first  settlement  of 
the  County  of  Peoria,  commenced 
at  Ft.  Clark,  as  Peoria  was  then 
called,  there  was  no  schools  or 
school  districts,  or  school  money. 
Educational  affairs,  like  everything 
else,  was  in  chaos,  without  form 
and  void.  The  County  was  wilder- 
ness and  the  pioneer  fathers  were 
left  to  get  along  as  best  they  could. 
As  the  settlements  advanced,  and 
as  schools  were  desired,  a  central 
location  as  to  neighborhood  and 
the  convenience  of  scholars  was 
selected  and  a  school  house  built. 
Each  settler  who  had  children  large 
enough  to  go  to  school  volunteered 
a  certain  amount  of  work  towards 
its  erection.  In  no  case  was  the 
school  house  large  or  pretentious. 

10 


TEACHERS  O#  EARI<Y  PEORIA. 

One  window  on  each  side  of  the 
structure  furnished  the  light,  that 
is,  if  the  settlers  had  money  enough 
to  buy  the  sash  and  glass,  if  not 
greased  paper  supplied  the  place 
of  glass.  More  than  likely  as  not, 
a  part  of  a  log  was  cut  out  and 
greased  paper  fastened  over  the 
aperture  was  made  to  serve  as  a 
window.  There  was  a  puncheon 
floor,  a  puncheon  door,  on  wooden 
hinges  at  one  end  of  the  building, 
and  a  mud  and  stick,  or  sod  chim- 
ney and  fireplace  at  the  other  end. 
The  seats  were  made  from  punch- 
eons or  a  suitable  sized  tree  was  cut 
to  the  desired  length  and  split;  the 
split  sides  were  dressed  with  a 
broad  axe;  holes  were  bored  in  the 
round  sides  with  a  two-inch  auger 
and  pins  inserted  for  support. 
Writing  benches  or  desks  were 
made  by  boring  slanting  holes  in 
the  sides  of  the  houses,  in  which 
11 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

supports  or  arms  were  driven  and 
a  wide  plank  or  puncheon  with  the 
upper  side  dressed  smooth  and 
held  in  place  by  shoulders  cut  on 
the  lower  end  of  the  supports,  an 


ViL 


«&2 


4*=£-5?i»i  -^-  :"%rf^? 

v  rTTr* 


old  split  bottom  chair  was  added 
for  the  teacher  and  the  school 
house  was  complete. 

The  teacher  in  a  large  majority 
of  cases,  in  these  early  schools 
"boarded  round".  That  is,  he 

12 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI<Y  PEORIA. 

boarded  a  week,  more  or  less  with 
one  patron  of  his  school,  and  then 
with  another;  usually  his  boarding 
places  were  in  the  rough,  homely, 
but  hospitable  homes  of  the  pio- 
neer. A  cabin  with  but  one  room, 
in  which  the  whole  family  cooked, 
ate  and  slept  was  the  rule.  Per- 
haps there  was  a  loft  reached  by  a 
ladder  where  the  boys  slept,  but  it 
was  unusual  to  find  a  cabin  without 
two  beds  and  perhaps  three  in  the 
only  room  down  stairs,  which  was 
the  family  living  room,  as  well  as 
the  kitchen  and  dining  room.  A 
letter  from  one  of  these  old  teach- 
ers written  to  his  mother  in  one  of 
the  eastern  states  lies  before  me 
and  from  it  I  make  the  following 
extract: 

*  *  *  "I  am  told  my  school  is 
a  large  one  for  this  place.  I  have 
twenty-six  scholars,  most  of  them 
very  regular  in  attendance.  I  have 

13 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

two  girls  and  four  boys,  who  are 
older  than  I  am,  but  they  are  well 
behaved  and  seem  desirous  to 
learn.  I  board  this  week  with  Mr. 
*  *  *  *  they  are  nice  peo- 
ple and  seem  desirous  to  do  any- 
thing they  can  to  make  me  com- 
fortable and  at  home.  *  *  *  I 
have  a  nice  large  room  with  a  fire 
in  it,  all  to  myself,  —  I  allow  Mrs. 
-  to  cook  at  the  fire  in  my  room, 
I  also  allow  the  family  to  eat  there- 
There  are  three  beds  in  the  room 
and  a  trundle  bed,  which  may  be 
pulled  out  at  night.  As  I  cannot 
use  all  the  beds  myself,  I  have  con- 
cluded to  allow  Mr.  and  Mrs.  - 
sleep  in  one  of  them,  and  the  girls 
sleep  in  another,  as  I  do  not  want 
to  disoblige  such  kind  patrons.  For 
dinner  to-day  (Sunday)  we  had 
venison  and  corn  bread  and  two 
kinds  of  pie, — pumpkin  pie  and 

14 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI/V  PEORIA. 

Dutch  cheese  —  so  you  see  I  live 
like  a  nabob." 

Some  of  the  early  schools  were 
very  rough.  There  were  schools 
where  the  big  boys  thought  it  a 
solemn  duty  to  lick  the  schoolmas- 
ter and  drive  him  off  before  the 
winter  was  out,  and  frequently  they 
did  so.  Sometimes  the  teacher 
was  young  and  athletic  and  came 
off  victorious  after  a  fight.  These 
contests  were  usually  a  kind  of 
rough  horse  play  without  much 
malice  on  either  side.  They  fre- 
quently originated  at  Christmas 
time  when  the  boys  would  smoke 
the  teacher  out  by  putting  a  board 
over  the  top  of  the  chimney.  Many 
stories  have  been  written  illustrat- 
ing these  contests. 

There  was  a  provision  in  the 
law  at  that  time,  by  which  the  in- 
habitants of  any  school  district 
might  classify  themselves  and  allot 

15 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

for  each  class  a  portion  of  the 
work,  and  materials  for  buildings 
— see  Section  22,  Law  25;  thus  one 
class  might  cut  the  logs  and  an- 
other might  hew  them,  a  third 
might  make  puncheons  and  split 
shingle,  etc.,  etc.  Such  was  the 
course  pursued  in  an  attempt  at 
the  first  school  building  in  Peoria 
County,  as  shown  in  the  following 
order: 

ORDER   FOR   BUILDING  A  SCHOOL 
HOUSE. 

In  pursuance  of  the  order  of  the 
legal  voters  of  Peoria  School  Dis- 
trict No.  i,  the  trustees  make  the 
following  apportionment  of  fami- 
lies in  classes  to  erect  and  finish  a 
school  house  16x18  feet,  at  least  10 
feet  high  from  the  ground  to  the 
eave  bearers  as  follows: 

The  first  class  consists  of  Henry 
Neely,  James  Walker,  John  Ham- 

10 


TEACHERS  OF  EARLY  PEORIA. 

lin,  John  Barker  to  cut  the  logs  for 
the  body  and  sills,  ribs  and  bunting 
poles,  joists,  sleepers  and  eave 
bearers,  chimney  and  chinking 
stuff,  door  facings  and  to  split  pun- 
cheon stuff  for  floor,  benches  and 
other  necessary  timber  for  said 
house. 

The  second  class  to  consist  of 
Isaac  Walters,  James  Latham,  Wm. 
Clark  and  Augustus  Langworthy, 
to  cut  and  split  seven  hundred  clap- 
boards, hew  the  puncheons  for 
floor  and  to  lay  the  floor. 

The  third  class  to  consist  of 
Wm.  Holland,  AbnerEads,  George 
Sharp  and  Alva  Moffitt,to  haul  the 
timber  and  stone  for  the  house  and 
to  chink  the  same,  cut  out  and  face 
the  door  and  windows  and  cut  out 
out  the  fire  place. 

The  fourth  class  to  consist  of 
Isaac  Hyde,  John  Dixon,  John  L. 
Bogardus  and  Archibald  Allen,  to 

17 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

build  the  chimney,  daub  the  house, 
make  the  door  and  windows  and 
writing  table;  to  hang  the  door  and 
bank  the  house.  All  the  classes  to 
join,  to  raise  and  cover  the  house 
and  lay  the  floor. 

To  Mr.  Elijah  Hyde,  you  are 
requested  to  call  on  each  individ- 
ual in  the  above  classes  and  to  no- 
tify all  those  belonging  to  the  first, 
second  and  third  class  to  meet  and 
perform  their  several  portions  of 
labor  from  Wednesday  to  Friday 
next  both  inclusive.  And  the  fourth 
class  to  meet  and  perform  their 
respective  portion  of  labor  from 
Monday  to  Wednesday  next,  both 
inclusive.  You  will  not  fail  to  serve 
the  same  on  each  of  the  above 
named  persons  on  or  before  the 
1 2th  day  of  the  present  month  and 
make  due  return  hereof  and  fail 
not  under  pain  of  $5.00. 

(Signed)  NORMAN  HYDE 

Clerk  Peoria  Common  School  District  No.  1. 
December,  1825. 

18 


TEACHERS  OF   EARI^Y  PEORIA. 

Judging  from  the  names  in  these 
several  classes,  who  were  all  citi- 
zens of  Peoria,  the  school  house 
must  have  been  built  somewhere  in 
Peoria,  if  built  at  all.  It  was,  how- 
ever, much  easier  to  make  the  plan 
than  to  build  the  house.  The  house 
may  have  been  built,  if  so  it  has 
entirely  disappeared,  not  even  a 
recollection  of  it  remains,  and  it 
may  be  strongly  doubted  whether 
the  house  was  ever  built. 

In  1876  President  Gregory  of 
the  Illinois  Industrial  University  of 
Champaign,  issued  a  circular  to 
teachers  and  friends  of  education 
throughout  the  state,  soliciting  his- 
torical sketches  of  the  schools  in 
the  several  counties.  In  response 
to  this  circular,  Johnson  says  the 
following  sketch  was  prepared, 
which  is  the  only  account  of  the 
very  early  schools  now  remaining. 
The  response  says: — 

19 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

'The  first  school  taught  at  Peo- 
ria,  or  at  Ft.  Clark,  as  it  was  then 
called,  was  taught  by  a  man  named 
Peter  Grant,  about  1821  or  1822. 
The  school  was  necessarily  small 
and  the  teacher  was  paid  by  sub- 
scription, so  much  each  quarter  for 
each  scholar/' 

James  Eads,  one  of  the  pupils 
who  attended  this  first  school,  is 
still  [in  1900]  living  in  Peoria.  He 
is  ninety-four  years  old.  He  lives 
with  his  grand-daughter,  Mrs.  Ba- 
ker, who  with  her  husband  lives  on 
the  bank  of  the  river  near  the  foot 
of  Fulton  street.  He  describes  the 
old  school  house  as  follows:  It 
was  a  small  building  on  the  river 
bank  below  Water  street  and  near 
Bridge,  [of  course  there  were  no 
streets  then].  The  house  was  built 
of  unhewed  logs,  a  part  of  a  log 
was  cut  out  and  greased  paper  in- 
stead of  glass  was  inserted  to  ad- 


JAMES  EADS 
AGED  94 

Attended  the  first  school  ever  held  in  Peoria,  taught 
by  Peter  Grant,  18-21. 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

mit  the  light.  It  was  chinked  and 
daubed  with  mud,  a  stone  hearth 
and  fire  place,  with  a  stick  and  mud 
chimney,  and  a  puncheon  door, 
completed  the  structure.  Ogee's 
hewed  log  cabin  which  was  famous 
afterwards  as  a  school  house  and 
court  house  was  not  built  for  two 
or  three  years  after.  Eads  says  that 
four  of  his  father's  family,  his  bro- 
ther Thomas  and  his  two  sisters, 
two  of  his  cousins,  the  children  of 
Abner  Eads,  and  some  others  were 
among  the  pupils.  They  are  all 
dead. 

James  Eads,  the  old  gentleman 
referred  to,  was  a  son  of  Wm.  Eads, 
who  came  here  in  1820,  the  year 
after  Josiah  Fulton,  Abner  Eads 
and  party  landed  here.  He  came 
with  his  father  in  the  fall  of  the 
year,  when  he  was  about  fourteen 
years  old,  and  "pretty  soon"  as  he 
says,  he  thinks  the  next  year  after, 

21 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

he  went  to  school  to  Peter  Grant. 
Grant  was  a  tall  slim  man  about 
thirty,  he  was  not  married  at  that 
time.  He  was  a  pretty  strict  disci- 
plinarian and  whipped  pretty  lib- 
erally to  keep  the  boys  straight. 
He  whipped  Eads  for  some  boyish 
prank.  Eads  says  he  dare  not  tell 
his  father  for  fear  he  would  be 
whipped  again.  Grant  did  not  stay 
long  in  Peoria.  It  is  said  he  went 
to  Lewistown  in  Fulton  county,  but 
the  history  of  early  settlers  in  Ful- 
ton county  does  not  show  his  name. 
Mr.  Eads  mentions  in  this  con- 
nection, a  thing  not  generally 
known  and  though  it  does  not  re- 
late to  schools  or  school  houses,  I 
cannot  forbear  to  relate  it.  He 
says  his  father  and  his  uncle  Abner 
started  the  first  ferry  at  Peoria* 
He  says  they  bought  two  pirogues, 
or  canoes,  thirty  or  forty  feet  long, 
lashed  them  together  and  laid  rails 

22 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

thereon,  covering  the  same  with 
straw,  and  that  was  the  first  ferry 
at  Peoria.  He  says  he  well  knew 
old  Bisson  (pronounced  Besaw)  an 
old  French  trader,  who  kept  a 
Trading  house  at  Wesley  City. 

This  school  taught  by  Grant 
was  certainly  the  first  school  in 
Northern  Illinois;  it  was  probably 
ten  years  before  any  school  in  Chi- 
cago, and  it  ranks  with  the  first,  if 
it  was  not  the  very  first  in  the  state. 
There  were  perhaps  some  villages 
in  Illinois  settled  earlier  than  Peo- 
ria by  the  Americans,  and  some- 
where there  may  have  been  a 
school,  but  none  is  known  to  have 
existed.  James  Eads  is  without 
doubt  the  oldest  living  person  at- 
tending any  school  in  Illinois.  He 
speaks  the  Pottawatomie  language 
and  has  acted  as  interpreter.  His 
recollection  is  clear,  and  his  mental 

23 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

faculties  bright.  He  has  lost  the 
use  of  his  lower  limbs. 

The  school  next  after  this  seems 
to  have  been  taught  by  Norman 
Hyde  in  1825.  Hyde  was  the  first 
Probate  Judge  of  Peoria  County. 
He  was  elected  January  1825,  and 
was  commissioned  by  Governor 
Edward  Cole.  He  was  a  surveyor 
and  his  handwriting  shows  he  was 
an  educated  man. 

In  the  papers  of  the  Probate 
Court  in  the  estate  of  James  La- 
tham is  an  account,  from  which  I 
make  the  following  extract: 

Estate  of  JAMES  LATHAM 

To  N.  HYI>E,  Dr. 
1825 

March  16,  To  amount  of  School  Sub- 
scription  $7.00 

June  22,  To  amount  of  School  Bill 6  95 

Aug.  24,  To  amount  of  last  quarter 

of  School 2.51 

This  extract  from  an  account 
arising  in  1825,  before  any  tax 

24 


TEACHERS  OF  EARtV  PEORlA. 

could  be  levied,  or  before  any 
school  officers  were  elected  is  tol- 
erably good  evidence  that  Norman 
Hyde  taught  here  in  1825. 

It  is  probable  the  next  school  in 
Peoria  was  taught  by  Mrs.  Maria 
Harkness,  she  was  certainly  the 
first  female  teacher  and  there  be- 
gin to  be  clearer  glimpses  of  the 
school,  taught  by  a  dame  now  al- 
most forgotten.  Maria  Harkness 
was  the  daughter  of  Isaac  Walters 
and  the  wife  of  James  P.  Harkness. 
In  a  letter  written  in  1879  and  fur- 
nished President  Gregory  for  his 
information  concerning  her  school, 
she  says:  * 

*A  letter  was  written  to  the  University  of  Illinois 
at  Champaign,  asking  for  information  on  this  subject 
and  the  following  is  the  reply  received. 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS, 
President's  Office 

CHAMPAIGN,  ILL.,  February  20, 1900. 
H.  W.  WELLS— Peoria,  Illinois. 
DEAR  SIR— 

Your  letter  addressed  to  the  President  of 
the  Illinois  Univeroity  has  been  referred  to  me  for 
reply. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  records  of  the  University 
of  Dr.  Gregory's  circular  letter  asking  for  Historical 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

"In  May,  1826,  as  was  then  the  custom,  I 
Wrote  out  an  article  of  agreement  proposing 
to  teach  a  school  at  Peoria,  as  Fort  Clark 
had  then  come  to  be  called,  enumerating-  the 
branches  I  proposee  to  teach — spelling,  read- 
ing, writing,  arithmetic,  geography,  and 
needle  work,  at  $1.50  per  scholar  for  a  term 
of  three  months  and  board.  The  teachers 
in  those  days  boarded  around  among  the 
patrons  of  the  school.  Thirty  scholars  were 
subscribed  and  I  had  an  average  attendance 
of  twenty-four.  My  patrons  were  Judge 
Latham;  then  Indian  Agent;  Dr.  Augustus 
Langworthy,  Joseph  Ogee,  Indian  interpre- 
ter; John  L/.  Bogardus,  John  DixoH,  John 
Parker,  George  Sharp,  William  and  Abner 
Eads,  Capt.  Joseph  Moffitt  and  Isaac  Waters 
(who  was  the  father  of  the  teacher.)  The 
school  was  commenced  in  a  log  cabin  owned 
by  William  Holland,  the  village  blacksmith, 
where  it  was  continued  but  one  week,  be- 
cause there  were  no  windows  and  no  light 
except  the  open  door.  It  was  opened  the 
second  week  and  completed  in  Ogee's  new 
hewed  log  cabin,  which  was  afterwards  used 
as  a  court  house  "  f 

School  data;  nothing  to  show  that  it  was  ever  replied 
to.  There  is  not  even  a  copy  of  his  letter.  The  entire 
Centennial  exhibit  from  the  University  has  been  care- 
fully examined.  There  is  nothing  upon  the  subject  to 
which  you  refer.  Yours  very  trujy, 

LITTIA  HEATH, 
Secretary  to  the  President. 

tThe  County  Commissioners  March  8th,  1825, 
Court  ordered  the  building  a  Court  House  twenty 
feet  square  and  nine  feet  between  the  floor  and  the 
joists.  The  order  was,  however,  rescinded  a  short 
time  after.  No  court  house  was  built  uiitil  18.'J5, 

26 


TEACHERS  OF  HARI,Y  PEORIA. 

This  is  the  first  and  most  defi- 
nite account  we  have  of  the  schools 
in  early  Peoria.  The  teachers  and 
all  the  pupils  so  far  as  known,  are 
long  since  dead. 

Maria  Harkness  left  several  ac- 
quaintances in  Peoria  county, 
among  whom  may  be  mentioned 
Mrs.  Emerson,  residing  on  Evans 
street,  Mrs.  Lovell  Harrison,  re- 
siding on  Hurlburt  street  and  some 
others,  from  whom  it  may  be  gath- 
ered she  was  in  many  respects  a 
remarkable  woman  for  the  times- 
She  was  educated  beyond  most 
women  of  that  early  day.  She  was 
entirely  capable  as  a  teacher,  of 
more  advanced  scholars  than  at- 
tended her  school  in  Peoria.  Some 
time  about  in  the  forties,  two  pu- 
pils in  one  of  the  schools,  (prob- 

when  the  brick  building  on  the  square  was  built. 
Ogee's  hewed  log  cabin  here  mentioned  was  the  court 
hou  e  and  school  house  for  many  years.  It  stood  on 
the  bank  of  the  river. 

27 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND 

ably  Page's),  were  discussing  with 
each  other  some  question  in  gram- 
mar,— some  rule  about  the  infini- 
tive mode, — an  old  lady,  a  total 
stranger  to  both  of  them,  heard 
them  some  time  and  at  length  in- 
terrupted the  discussion  and  gave 
them  a  clear  explanation  of  the 
rule,  and  its  application,  to  great 
astonishment  of  both  of  them.  It 
turned  out  the  old  lady  was  Maria 
Harkness.  Her  latter  days  were 
somewhat  embittered.  She  claimed 
title  through  her  father  to  a  tract 
of  land  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
city,  now  worth  perhaps  a  million 
of  dollars,  and  to  which  she  at- 
tempted to  establish  her  rights. 
She  was  defeated  by  lapse  of  time 
and  perhaps  through  lack  of  friends 
and  means  to  push  her  rights.  She 
was  at  length  sent  to  the  poor 
house,  from  which  she  was  rescued 
by  her  son.  She  went  to  Minne- 

28 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI.Y  PEOKIA 

sota  some  time  in  the  fifties.  She 
adopted  and  wore  bloomer  cos- 
tume for  several  years  while  in  liti- 
gation about  her  land,  and  until 
her  death.  E.  C.  Harkness  of 
Elmwood  was  her  son. 

In  his  history  of  Peoria  County, 
Johnson  says  that  Isaac  Essex 
taught  school  here  about  1823  or 
1824.  This  is  probably  a  mistake. 
Essex  came  here,  according  to  his 
own  statement  to  Mrs.  Shallenber- 
ger,  in  her  history  of  Stark  Coun- 
ty, in  1826.  He  probably  taught 
school  here  that  winter.  He  did 
not  reach  Peoria  until  the  latter 
part  of  November,  and  Mrs.  Hark- 
ness taught  school  in  the  summer 
of  1826,  she  must  have  preceded 
him.  Essex  was  a  strong  anti- 
slavery  man,  though  born  in  Virgi- 
nia, he  was  an  active  Methodist, 
and  in  fact,  a  very  decided  man. 

29 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

He  was  born  in  Albermarle  Coun- 
ty, Virginia,  in  1800. 

On  the  25th  of  December,  1821, 
Christmas  Day,  he  married  Miss 
Isabel  Williams,  and  removed  to 
Ohio.  From  Ohio  he  removed  to 
Illinois,  reaching  Peoria  the  26th 
of  November,  1826.  Crossing  the 
river  at  Sharp's  Ferry.  When  he 
reached  Peoria  he  had  $14.00  in 
cash,  a  small  stock  of  household 
goods  and  a  team.  He  found  shel- 
ter for  his  family  and  that  winter 
taught  a  mission  school  under 
some  arrangement  with  the  Rev. 
Jesse  Walker,  the  first  Methodist 
preacher  and  the  first  Protestant 
preacher  north  of  Alton. 

He  established  Mission  schools  at 
various  points  in  northern  Illinois 
for  the  Indians.  One  here  at  Peo- 
ria, one  at  Mission  point  near  Ot- 
tawa. White  children  were  ad- 
mitted, but  the  schools  were  called 

30 


TEACHER   OF  EARI,Y   PEORIA. 

Mission  schools.  Essex  probably 
taught  one  of  these  Mission  schools. 
The  next  summer  Essex  left  his 
family  and  went  into  what  is  now 
Essex  Township,  Stark  County, 
split  clap  boards  and  cut  logs  for  a 
a  cabin.  He  then  took  his  family 
and  went  there.  It  was  then  Put- 
nam County,  afterwards  Stark.  He 
put  up  his  cabin  and  to  use  his  own 
phrase,  "Cut  out  a  log  and  moved 
in."  In  1832  the  Blackhawk  war 
was  raging;  the  families  in  this 
part  of  the  state  concentrated  for 
safety,  he  moved  his  family  to  Peo- 
ria,  where  he  again  taught  school 
for  a  short  time.  The  war  scare 
being  over  he  surrendered  his 
school  to  a  Mr.  Allen  and  returned 
to  his  farm  in  Stark  County.  He 
was  a  man  of  strong  personality,  a 
well  known  and  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Essex  Township,  which 
was  named  after  him,  He  accumu- 

31 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

lated  considerable  property  and 
afterwards  moved  to  Rock  Island 
County,  where  he  died  in  1877. 

I  can  find  no  trace  of  Mr.  Allen 
to  whom  Essex  is  said  to  have  sur- 
rendered his  school.  The  name  of 
Henry  Allen  appears  as  one  of  the 
first  voters  on  the  first  poll  books 
in  1825,  and  Archibald  Allen's  name 
is  found  in  the  first  assessment  list 
returned  by  John  L.  Bogardus  in 
1825.  It  may  have  been  either  of 
these  gentlemen,  nothing  is  cer- 
tainly known  of  them.  It  was 
probably  Archibald  Allen  whose 
name  appears  in  the  fourth  class  of 
those  assigned  to  build  a  school 
house.  (See  above.) 

Probably  the  next  school  was 
taught  by  Samuel  C.  McClure, 
though  it  is  not  certAin  he  was  the 
man.  Samuel  C.  McClure  was,  at 
one  time,  one  of  the  owners  of  the 
land  on  which  Bigelow  &  Under- 
3-2 


F1KST  FRAME  SCHOOL  HOUSE. 
Washington  St.,  »/elo\v  Chestnut. 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

hill's  Addition  to  Peoria  was  locat- 
ed. It  is  said  McClure  taught  here, 
and  one  or  two  old  citizens  think 
he  was  the  man.  H.  C.  Wright, 
now  residing  at  Henry  in  reply  to 
an  inquiry  writes  as  follows: 

HENRY,  lu,.,  Jan.  23, 1900. 
H.  W.  WEI^LS— Peoria,  111, 

DEAR  SIR: 

Referring  to  your  letter  of  November  18th. 
The  first  school  I  attended  in  Peoria  was  in 
the  old  Log-  Court  House  on  Water  Street, 
near  Bridge.  I  think  it  was  in  1830,  and 
that  the  teachers  name  was  McClure.  Jack- 
son and  Washington  Sharp,  who  lived  south 
of  Peoria,  and  Frank  Moffitt  on  the  Kicka- 
poo,  were  among-  the  scholars.  I  remember, 
but  its  been  years  since  I  have  heard  from 
any  of  them.  The  second  school  house  that 
I  remember  was  a  Frame  Building  on  Wash- 
ington Street,  It  seems  to  me  it  was  there  I 
first  met  Moses  Dusenberry.  My  recollec- 
tion is  that  the  Washington  Street  School 
House  was  built  just  after  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  I  attended  school  in  the  log  house  be- 
fore the  war. 

Yours, 

H.  C.  WRIGHT. 

James  Eads  remembers  McClure 

33 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

perfectly  well  and  says  he  thinks 
he  taught  school  here.  He  is  not 
certain. 

Among  the  early  teachers  in 
Peoria  was  Charles  Ballance,  he 
came  here  in  1831;  he  had  taught 
school  for  two  winters  in  Kentucky 
before  coming,  and  after  reaching 
Peoria,  in  the  fall  1832,  taught 
school  a  short  time,  he  tells  his 
own  story  very  modestly  in  his  his- 
tory of  Peoria.  He  says — "I  be- 
lieve the  first  school  attempted  in 
Peoria  was  in  the  fall  of  1832,  the 
author  seeing  some  children  run- 
ning about  and  learning  that  there 
was  no  school  in  the  village  rented 
a  room  and  opened  a  school,  but  it 
was  so  badly  patronized  for  want 
of  children  that  it  soon  closed/' 
Here  he  stops.  His  subsequent 
history  is  tolerably  familiar  to  our 
citizens.  He  died  August  10, 1872. 
Ballance  also  says  in  his  history, 

34 


TEACHERS  OF   EARI,Y   PEORIA. 

the  first  house  that  was  built  in 
Peoria  on  purpose  for  a  school 
house,  was  built  by  the  author  in 

1846,  on  a  lot  on  Walnut  street,  be- 
tween   Washington    and     Adams 
streets,  on  the  corner  of  the  alley 
on  the  lower  side,  a  private  school 
was   kept   there   until    the    public 
school  was   opened  under  the  law 
of  1857.      It  seems  a  little  strange 
that  there  was  no  school  house  in 
Peoria   until   as   late  as   1846,  but 
school    houses   were    scarce    fifty- 
four  years  ago.     Miss  Kate  Keller 
taught  in  that  house  in  1846  and  in 

1847.  She  had   a   tolerably  large 
school  for  the  times.     She  was  a 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Keller, 
and  still  lives  at  Keller  Station,  a 
few  miles  out  on  the  Rock  Island 
&  Peoria  R.  R.    She  was  an  excel- 
lent  teacher,   several   of  the  Bal- 
lance  children  attended  her  school. 
She  devised  a  scheme  of  rewards, 

35 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THK 

which  greatly  stimulated  her  schol- 
ars. When  any  scholar  was  per- 
fect in  any  study  for  an  entire  week 
she  gave  a  "reward  of  merit  card", 
on  which  was  a  request  for  the 
child's  parents  to  pay  it  a  pickayune 
(6%  cents).  One  little  girl,  Miss  Jen- 
nie Ballance,  succeeded  in  getting 
these  rewards  to  the  amount  of 
$1.25  in  one  term  and  of  course  her 
father  paid  her  the  money  and  she 
felt  as  though  she  owned  the  earth. 

Michael  Pfeifer,  the  hardware 
merchant  on  Bridge  street,  after- 
wards bought  this  old  school  house 
and  in  1862  moved  it  to  Washing- 
ton street,  two  or  three  doors  be- 
low Maple,  where  it  is  now  stand- 
ing in  good  repair.  It  has  had  a 
kitchen  built  on  the  rear,  otherwise 
it  is  as  it  was  fifty-four  years  ago. 

The  next  school  concerning 
which  any  information  has  come  to 
us,  was  kept  by  Isaac  Sheldon 
as 


TEACHERS  OF  EARLY  PEORIA. 

Dewey,  in  1832,  who  taught  in  the 
log  structure  before  mentioned  on 
the  bank  of  the  river.  Information 
as  to  this  school  is  given  by  Moses 
Dusenbery,  an  excellent  and  well 
preserved  gentleman,  residing  at 
102  Jackson  Street.  He  is  a  brick- 
layer and  plasterer  by  trade,  an  ex- 
cellent workman,  who  still  works 
daily  at  that  business,  notwith- 
standing he  is  verging  towards  80 
years.  His  recollection  is  clear  and 
bears  evidence  of  truthfulness  on 
its  face.  He  says — "I  first  went  to 
school  to  Mr.  Dewey  in  1832,  I 
know  it  was  in  1832,  because  it  was 
the  year  before  the  great  meteoric 
shower,  which  they  say  took  place 
in  November  1833." 

He  describes  the  storm,  he  says 
some  one  was  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river  who  came  to  notify  Col. 
Menard  that  some  member  of  his 

37 


THK  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

family  was  sick.*  The  messenger 
called  several  times,  but  could  not 
arouse  the  ferryman,  and  Mr.  Du- 
senbery,  then  a  lad  about  14  years 
old,  went  in  a  skiff  and  brought 
him  to  this  side,  on  returning  with 
his  passenger,  about  the  middle  of 
the  stream,  the  shower  of  meteors 
began.  He  was  not  frightened, 
but  when  he  reached  his  home, 
climbed  on  top  of  his  father's  log 
cabin,  in  order  to  see  how  the  stars 
fell,  or  how  near  they  came  to  the 
earth.  The  falling  of  the  stars,  he 
says,  made  it  as  light  as  day,  peo- 
ple were  much  frightened,  many 
were  praying  and  thinking  the 
world  was  corning  to  an  end.  He 
says  he  did  not  go  to  school  very 
long,  at  least  not  a  full  term,  when 
Mr.  Dewey  was  taken  sick  and  the 
school  was  closed. 

*Menard  kept  a  trading  store  on  the  corner  of  Mala 
and  Water  Street,  but  his  family  lived  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river. 

38 


TEACHERS    OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

Hiram  Wright,  now  living  at 
Henry,  and  who  writes  the  letter 
given  above,  and  Henry  Moffit, 
were  among  the  scholars,  and  prob- 
ably with  Mr.  Dusenbery,  the  only 
ones  who  now  survive.  Henry 
Moffit  was  probably  the  first  white 
child  born  in  Peoria  County.  He 
lives  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city. 
Dewey  was  rather  a  small  man,  he 
had  a  scar  on  his  face,  caused  as 
Mr.  Dusenbery  thinks,  by  a  gun 
shot  wound,  which  somewhat  mar- 
red its  regularity.  He  was  prob- 
ably about  30  or  thereabouts.  He 
died  and  was  buried  in  Peoria  a 
number  of  years  ago.  His  son, 
Thomas  Dewey,  now  lives  on  Glen- 
dale  Avenue. 

Mr.  Dusenbery  tells  a  character- 
istic anecdote  of  the  first  and  only 
Sunday  School  he  remembers.  This 
he  thinks  was  held  in  the  log  court 
house  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

39 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

The  school  was  opened  one  Sun- 
day afternoon,  and  the  lesson 
about  to  begin,  when  one  of  the 
boys  listening,  leaned  out  of  the 
window  a  moment,  and  then  shout- 
ed Steamboat,  by  thunder,  and 
bounded  out  of  the  room.  He  was 
followed  by  the  teacher  and  all  the 
scholars  and  that  ended  the  Sun- 
day school  for  that  day  at  least. 

The  next  teacher  of  whom  we 
have  any  account,  was  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Morrow.  She  taught  two  or 
three  terms  here,  commencing 
probably  in  the  summer  of  1832  or 
1833,  in  the  little  log  cabin  before 
mentioned,  and  later  in  a  little 
frame  building,  which  stood  on 
Main  Street,  opposite  the  Court 
House,  where  the  Herron  Block 
now  stands.  This  building  was 
leased  to  her  by  Charles  Ballance. 
She  was  a  good  looking  woman, 
medium  sized,  blonde  complexion, 

40 


TEACHEKS  OF  EARI.Y  I>£ORIA 
and  wore  linsey  woolsey  dress,  then 
worn  by  all  women.  Among  her 
pupils  was  Capt.  J.  H.  Hall,  who 
attended  in  the  little  frame  build- 
ing opposite  the  Court  House.  He 
is  perhaps  the  only  one  now  living 
in  Peoria.  Miss  Morrow  went 
away,  came  back  in  1836  and  taught 
in  a  private  house  on  Main  Street* 
The  house  was  occupied  by  a  fam- 
ily named  Little.  Miss  Morrow 
boarded  with  the  family  and  taught 
in  one  room  of  the  house.  She 
next  taught  in  a  house  near  and 
above  where  the  First  National 
Bank  now  stands  on  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Washington  Street. 
P.  C.  Bartlett  well  remembers  at- 
tending this  school.  He  says  his 
father  lived  in  a  little  yellow  frame 
house  on  the  corner  of  Adams  and 
Hamilton  Street,  where  the  Eld- 
rick  Smith  Block  now  stands.  He 
says  he  sometimes  heard  wolves  in 

41 


f  HE  SCHOOLS  AND 

the  night  which  came  to  steal  pigs 
or  chickens  from  Mr.  Anderson, 
who  lived  lower  down  on  Main 
Street. 

Miss  Morrow  afterwards  mar- 
ried Amos  Stevens,  a  prosperous 
man  living  near  Elmwood  in  Peo- 
ria  County.  She  died  about  1838, 

About  1833,  or  possibly  1834.) 
Cyrus  W.  Parker  taught  one  term 
here.  The  family  came  from  Ohio 
in  a  lumber  wagon;  they  struck  the 
Illinois  river  somewhere  below 
here,  when  they  sold  their  team 
and  came  here  by  boat.  On  reach- 
ing Peoria,  he  found  some  trouble 
in  getting  shelter  tor  his  family. 
At  length  he  managed  to  get  his 
family  provided  for  and  secured  a 
log  shanty,  where  he  opened  a 
school.  This  was  probably  in  the 
old  Court  House.  He  afterwards 
moved  his  family  to  Washington, 
Tazewell  County,  where  he  died 

42 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,V  PEGRIA* 

some  30  or  more  years  ago.  The 
latter  part  of  his  life  he  was  nearly 
blind;  he  was  an  excellent  teacher, 
much  better  qualified  than  teach- 
ers usually  were  at  that  time. 

Mr.  Douglass  was  the  next  to 
teach  a  winter  school,  according  to 
memory  of  old  settlers.  He  taught 
in  a  little  frame  building  not  far 
from  where  Anthony's  Bank  now 
stands  on  Main  Street  in  1836  or 


1837,  and  afterwards  in  the  First 
Congregational  Church,  a  one- 
story  frame  building  just  across 
the  alley  above  Rouse's  hall.  It 

43 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND 

was  plastered  both  inside  and  out- 
side, and  was  built  in  1835.  It  is 
claimed  to  be  the  first  church  build- 
in  Peoria. 

Mr.  Douglass  was  a  fine  looking 
man  about  28  years  of  age  and  an 
excellent  teacher.  John  H.  Hall 
and  P.  C.  Bartlett  were  among  his 
scholars.  He  also  taught  in  a  log 
school  house,  which  stood  where 
Spinnetto's  saloon  once  stood  on 
the  lower  side  of  Main  Street,  just 
above  the  alley  between  Jefferson 
and  Madison.  The  front  has  late- 
ly been  changed  and  it  is  now  oc- 
cupied as  a  Millinery  store. 

There  was  a  school  opened  here 
about  1838  or  1839,  the  teacher's 
name  is  remembered  by  Mrs.  Har- 
rison as  Mr.  Winslow.  The  school 
room  was  on  Washington  Street, 
up-stairs  in  a  building,  situated  in 
the  rear  of  what  is  now  Robt.  Da- 
vis' Drug  Store.  Capt.  John  Hall, 

44 


TEACHERS   OF   EARI/VT  PEORIA. 

T.  B.  McFadden,  P.  C.  Bartlett 
and  Clint  Farrell  were  among  the 
scholars. 

Miss  Margaret  Fash,  now  Mrs. 
Harriman  Couch,  residing  at  312 
South  Jefferson  Avenue,  opened  a 
select  school  in  the  old  Court  house 
on  Water  Street  in  1834.  Her 
school  was  a  large  one  for  the  time> 
she  had  about  30  pupils  and  kept  a 
summer  school  one  term.  Mrs. 
Couch  is  a  very  pleasant  old  lady 
and  bids  fair  to  live  many  winters 
yet.  Her  recollection  is  clear,  al- 
though more  than  sixty-five  years 
have  elapsed  since  her  school  was 
closed.  Miss  Rouse,  now  Mrs. 
Capt.  Sweeney,  now  living  in  New 
Jersey,  and  her  sister,  now  Mrs. 
Winchell,  residing  on  Fayette 
Street,  were  among  his  pupils. 

In  1835  Miss  Sarah  Bigelow,  who 
subsequently  married  Jas.  C.  Arm- 
strong, and  is  now  a  widow  resid- 

45 


THE  SCHOOIvS  AND  THE 

ing  at  1009  Jackson  Street,  also 
taught  a  summer  school.  Her 
school  was  well  attended.  Miss 
Margaret  Rouse,  nowMrs.Winchell, 
and  her  sister,  Mrs.Capt.  Sweeney^ 
and  one  or  two  of  the  Hamlin 
children  were  among  her  pupils. 
Mrs.  Winchell  is  piobably  now  the 
only  one  now  living  in  Peoria.  Mrs. 
Armstrong  was  for  years  Librarian 
of  the  Peoria  Mercantile  Library, 
and  though  now  in  feeble  health, 
her  mental  faculties  are  unimpair- 
ed. She  was  an  excellent  teacher 
and  popular  with  her  pupils  and 
patrons. 

Miss  Jane  Taggert,  a  daughter 
of  Mathew  Taggert,  taught  in  what 
was  then  known  Hunts  Row,  some- 
where near  1838.  Hunts  Row  was 
a  row  of  frame  buildings  on  the 
corner  of  Adams  and  Fulton  Streets, 
where  the  B.  &  M.  now  stands; 
each  house  consisted  of  one  room, 

46 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

about  fourteen  feet  square.  They 
were  built  by  Judge  Hunt  to  rent. 
If  the  family  of  new  comers  was 
able  to  get  one  room,  they  thought 
they  were  well  provided  for  at  that 
time.  Miss  Taggert  afterwards 
taught  on  Washington  Street,  on 
the  lot  now  occupied  as  Proctor's 
Lumber  Yard.  Henry  T.  Baldwin 
and  Mrs.  Harry  VanBuskirk  were 
her  pupils.  The  family  lived  there 
and  she  taught  in  one  room  of  the 
house. 

She  afterwards  taught  in  a  house 
known  as  the  Cleveland  House.  It 
was  situated  on  Jefferson  Avenue 
on  the  corner  of  Fayette  Street.  It 
was  afterwards  moved  to  the  lower 
end  just  above  the  alley,  between 
Jefferson  and  Madison  Avenue.  It 
was  a  large  house  for  the  times. 
The  Taggert  family  lived  there 
and  Miss  Taggert  taught  in  one  of 
the  rooms.  The  lot  is  now  owned 

47 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

by  Mr.  Schradzki,  who  has  torn 
down  the  old  house.  T.  B.  McFad- 
den,  Clint  Farrell,  Miss  Richardson, 
now  Mrs.  Lovell  Harrison,  Sanford 
Richardson,  many  years  a  mission- 
ary in  Syria,  and  Aunt  Lizzie  Ai- 
ken,  the  well  known  army  nurse 
were  among  her  scholars.  The 
house  was  known  as  the  Cleveland 
House,  probably  because  Henry  W. 
Cleveland  built  it  and  lived  there 
in  1836.  Miss  Taggert  was  a  rather 
precise,  formal  lady,  but  was  rea: 
sonably  well  qualified  as  a  teacher 
at  that  time.  Later  she  lived  with 
her  father  in  a  little  low  frame 
building  on  Jefferson  Avenue  across 
from  the  Greeley  School.  She  was 
small,  below  the  size  of  women 
usually,  and  was  a  strict  disciplina- 
rian. The  family  have  disappear- 
ed and  are  probably  all  dead. 

About  1838  Asa  T.Cassell  taught 
in   the    old    plastered    church    on 

48 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

Main  Street  for  one  term.  He  was 
a  brother  of  Doctor  Cassell,  who 
was  well  known  in  early  Peoria;  he 
is  said  to  have  been  a  good  teach- 
er. He  also  taught  early  in  the 
forties  in  the  building  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Main  and  Adams  Streets, 
where  McDougal's  Drug  Store  now 
stands.  The  building  was  a  two- 
story  frame.  It  was  built  by  Fisher 
Brothers  of  Lacon.  The  upper 
story  was  for  some  years  used  as  a 
school  room.  P.  C.  Bartlett  after- 
wards occupied  the  lower  story  as 
a  grocery  store.  Main  street  was 
afterwards  cut  down  and  the  house 
was  left  some  two  or  three  feet 
higher  than  the  street.  T.  B.  Mc- 
Fadden,  P.  C.  Bartlett  and  William 
Reynolds  were  among  the  schol- 
ars. 

A  Mr.Johnson  taught  in  a  build- 
ing near  the  old  church  and  next 
above  the  alley  on  the  lot  where 

49 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

the  old  Library  Building  stands. 
It  was  a  little  frame  building,  built 
for  a  residence.  T.  B.  McFadden 
and  Clint  Farrell  were  among  the 
scholars.  He  afterwards  taught 
up-stairs  on  Main  street,  about  two 
doors  below  Robert  Davis'  Drug 
Store.  The  school  room  was  en- 
tered by  stairs  on  the  next  build- 
ing above  with  a  bridge  across  the 
space  to  the  school  room.  The 
school  was  a  large  one  for  the  time. 
Johnson  Cole  was  one  of  the  pu- 
pils attending  this  school. 

Robt.  Cooper,  a  brother  of  J.K. 
Cooper  of  legal  fame,  taught  here 
in  1845,  on  South  Washington 
street,  at  the  corner  of  Fulton. 
He  was  a  good  teacher,  well  quali- 
fied and  a  regular  martinet  in  dis- 
cipline. Henry  T.  Baldwin  and 
Johnson  Cole  were  among  his  pu- 
pils. His  school  was  up-stairs  in  a 
two-story  building. 

50 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI<Y  PEORIA. 

Mr.  Cooper  also  taught  in  the 
Congregational,  then  Presbyterian 
Church,  for  one  or  more  terms. 
Cooper  was  a  man  slow  of  speech, 
a  better  than  ordinary  scholar  and 
teacher.  His  school  was  large  for 
that  day;  the  exact  date  of  school 
cannot  be  certainly  learned ;  neither 
can  I  learn  the  exact  date  at  which 
Johnson  taught,  but  it  was  probably 
1837  or  1838-1839,  and  probably  in 
the  winter.  Mr.  Cooper  also  taught 
near  the  corner  of  Washington  and 
Fulton  streets  in  the  forties.  He 
was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  a  tall, 
spare  man,  not  unlike  in  physical 
make  up  to  his  brother,  the  well 
known  lawyer. 

Miss  Royes  taught  a  Summer 
School  here  in  1837  or  1838  in  the 
old  Congregational  Church;  her 
school  was  large  for  that  day;  she 
is  said  to  have  been  a  good  teacher 
and  a  favorite  with  her  pupils.  Miss 

51 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

Russell,  now  Mrs.  Caleb  Whitte- 
more,  was  among  her  pupils,  and 
speaks  well  of  her  as  a  teacher. 

About  1839,  Mr.  Rice  opened  a 
school  near  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Adams  street,  up-stairs  in  the  build- 
ing built  by  Fisher  Bros.,  and  af- 
terwards used  as  the  Postoffice.  He 
taught  one  or  two  winters  here  and 
died  some  thirty  or  more  years 
ago.  It  is  said  that  Rice  afterwards 
taught  in  a  carpenter  shop  built  by 
Charles  Benton,  on  Second  street 
near  Franklin,  but  I  can  learn  noth- 
ing definite  about  this  school.  In 
front  of  the  shop  on  Second  street, 
was  a  fine  brick  building,  built  by 
Doctor  Cassell  in  1839.  The  house 
is  still  standing,  although  the  car- 
penter shop  has  long  since  disap- 
peared. 

On  the  ;th  of  January,  1840,  the 
Rev.  David  Page  opened  a  private 
school  in  the  old  Buxton  House, 

52 


TKACHERS  OF  EARI/¥  PEORIA. 

which  stood  on  Adams  Street,  near 
Fulton,  about  where  the  Powell 
Block  now  stands.  His  sister-in- 
law,  Miss  Boardman,  was  his  assist- 
ant. He  taught  two  or  three  terms 
in  this  house  and  lived  in  the  other 
half  of  the  same  house.  This 
school  was  famous  in  Peoriaat  that 
time;  he  called  his  school  the  Peo- 
ria  Academy.  It  was  much  better 
than  an  ordinary  district  school  ot 
that  day  and  was  by  far  the  best 
school  in  Peoria  up  to  that  time. 
About  1843  or  J844  he  removed  his 
school  to  near  the  corner  of  Sec- 
ond and  Franklin  street  on  the  al- 
ley (there  were  no  alleys  at  that 
date,  all  was  open  ground)  into 
Wilkinson's  carpenter  shop,  which 
he  fitted  up  as  a  school  house.  He 
published  an  advertisement,  de- 
scribing the  school.  He  stated  that 
children  of  every  age  were  admit- 
ted from  the  alphabet  and  upwards 

53 


THE   SCHOOLS   AND   THE 

through  the  whole  circle  of  scien- 
ces as  far  as  they  were  taught  in 
any  academy.  The  branches  above 
ordinary  common  schools  are  geo- 
metry, algebra,  surveying,  natural 
philosophy,  chemistry,  history,  ce- 
lestial geography,  astronomy,  logic, 
rhetoric,  declamation  and  compo- 
sition. The  Greek  and  Latin  lan- 
guages are  also  taught.  Very  small 
boys  in  their  first  attempt  at  going 
to  school  are  sometimes  placed  in 
the  female  department;  almost  any 
kind  of  produce  received  for  tuition 
at  a  reasonable  price. 

Miss  Abbey  Lovett  and  Miss 
Louisa  Aldrich,  graduates  of  Mt. 
Holyoke,  were  employed  as  assist- 
ants; Miss  Aldrich  taught  Latin 
and  Greek  and  Miss  Lovett  taught 
French.  Page's  Academy  was  a 
popular  school  and  was  reasonably 
profitable  to  the  proprietor.  During 
the  early  part  of  this  school,  Miss 

E4 


TEACHERS   OF   EARI/V  PEORIA. 

Boardman,  who  was  his  wife's  sis- 
ter, and  his  wife,  were  his  assist- 
ants. Mrs.  Lovell  Harrison,  now 
residing  on  Hurlburt  street,  was 
one  of  his  pupils,  and  speaks  in 
very  high  terms  of  the  efficiency  of 
his  school.  The  Rev.  Page  was  a 
small  man, below  the  ordinary  size; 
his  wife  and  Miss  Boardman  were 
large,  as  much  over  the  ordinary 
size  for  women  as  Page  was  below 
the  ordinary  size  for  men.  Page 
on  one  occasion  announced  to  the 
school  that  business  called  him 
away,  that  he  should  be  gone  until 
after  dinner  and  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  school  in  charge 
of  his  wife  for  that  morning.  He 
charged  the  scholars  to  be  good 
boys  and  not  make  any  disturbance 
etc.  He  had  hardly  gone,  when 
one  of  the  boys,  said  to  be  Bob  Cox 
or  Daniel  Van  Bard,  took  a  large 
pin  and  bent  it  so  that  it  could  be 

55 


THE;  SCHOOLS  AND  THK 
placed  on  a  seat  where  it  would 
pierce  the  tender  extremity  of  any 
one  who  would  sit  down.  One  of 
the  boys  managed  unnoticed  to 
slip  this  pin  on  the  chair  of  the 
Mistress,  who  presently  sat  down 
on  it.  The  teacher  screamed,  ran 
out  of  the  room,  and  the  boys  had 
the  balance  of  that  forenoon  to 
themselves.  Capt.  John  H.  Hall, 
Clint  Farrell,  Murry  Blakesley, 
Daniel  Van  Baird,  Bob  Cox, 
Sanford  Richardson  and  many 
others  were  among  his  pupils.  For 
some  boyish  prank  played  on  the 
teacher,  Page  was  one  day  about 
to  thrash  one  or  two  of  these  boys> 
The  boys,  however,  made  common 
cause  with  each  other  and  all  of 
them  grabbed  their  caps  and  ran 
out.  Their  continued  absence  gave 
Page  some  uneasiness  and  after 
school  he  started  to  find  them, 
which  he  did.  He  told  them  to 

56 


= 

H 


d 
w 


a 

§ 


I 


o 

I 

* 


•••• 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y 

come  back  and  he  would  not  pun- 
ish any  of  them.  The  boys  went 
back  to  school  and  the  escapade 
was  overlooked.  They  say  Page 
treated  them  very  kindly  after  that, 
The  old  Buxton  House  deserves 
a  passing  notice.  It  was  a  double 
frame  house,  two  stories  high  and 
the  largest  house  in  Peoria  at  the 
time  it  was  built.  It  stood,  as  stat- 
ed, where  the  Powell  Block  now 
stands,  near  the  corner  of  Adams 
and  Fulton  street.  It  was  built  in 
1834  by  Hurd  and  Hamlin  for  old 
Maid  Buxton,  as  she  was  then 
called,  and  was  occupied  by  Bux- 
ton and  Wolford  until  Buxton  died 
in  1835  and  until  his  widow  was 
compelled  to  leave  it.  It  was  a  fa- 
mous old  house  in  its  time  and  is 
still  standing  at  No.  212  and  214 
Glendale  Avenue,  where  it  was 
moved  by  Henry  Mansfield,  a  num- 
ber of  years  ago;  it  is  now  occupied 


SCHOOLS  AND  THE) 

as  a  tenement  house.  The  old 
house  did  not  extend  beyond  the 
porch  shown.  The  two  ends  have 
been  built  since.  Abraham  S.  Bux- 
ton  was  the  editor  of  the  "Cham- 
pion", the  first  newspaper  printed 
in  Peoria.  He  had  what  at  that 
day  was  an  extensive  and  well  se- 
lected library.  The  books  were 
sold  by  his  administrator.  A  list 
of  them  can  be  seen  in  the  inven- 
tory now  on  file  in  the  Probate 
Court. 

Miss  Mary  Waters  taught  a  se- 
lect school  in  the  summer  of  1839 
or  1840;  the  school  consisted  of 
very  young  children.  Miss  Leah 
Thomas,  now  Mrs.  Chas,  Benton, 
who  lives  on  Franklin  street,  at  the 
head  of  Sixth  street,  was  one  of 
her  scholars.  Her  only  recollection 
of  the  school  is,  that  Miss  Waters 
was  a  very  good,  and  a  very  pretty 
woman.  She  afterwards  married 

58 


TKACHERS  OF  EARI/V  PEORIA. 

John  McClay  Smith,  a  stately  old 
gentleman,  who  kept  a  Grocery  on 
the  corner  of  Fulton  and  Washing- 
ton street,  where  Zell's  Bank  now 
stands.  She  died  about  a  year  af- 
ter her  marriage.  The  following 
letter  contains  more  of  her  history 
than  can  otherwise  be  given: 

CAI,DWEI.I,,  KANS.,  Nov.  25,  1899. 
H.  W.  WELLS,  ESQ. 
DEAR  SIR: 

Your  letter  of  inquiry  is  received.  Am 
sorry,  I  can  give  you  but  meager  informal 
tiun,  as  to  my  Aunt,  Mrs.  Mary  Waters 
Smith,  connection  with  Peoria  schools.  All 
I  have  for  reference  is  an  obituary  notice 
printed  in  the  "New  York  Observer",  the 
year  of  her  death,  1848.  *  *  *  She  carne 
with  her  father,  Rev.  John  Waters,  with  a 
colony  from  New  York  State,  which  settled 
oa  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Galesburg 
in  1835. 

She  so~n  after  engaged  in  teaching-  in  a 
small  log  schoolhouse  in  Peoria  County,  also 
hi  several  other  of  the  schools  in  the  state 
in  successive  years. 

In  1841  she  went  to  Green  Bay. Wisconsin, 
and  taught  six  years,  she  returned  to  her 
father's  house  in  spring  of  1847  and  the  fol- 

59 


f  HE  SCHOOtS  AND  THE 

lowing-  June  became  the  wife  of  J.  McClay 
Smith,  of  Peoria,  111. 

It  is  evident  that  she  taught  somewhere  in 
Illinois  about  five  years,  but  when  she  taught 
in  Peoria,  what  kind  of  a  school,  or  how 
many  scholars,  I  have  no  facts  on  which  to 
base  reply.  She  died  August  17,  1848.  *  *  * 

Regretting-  my  inability  to  give  more  of 
the  desired  information. 

Respectfully  yours, 

HATTIE  L,.  WATERS. 

In  the  summer  of  1844,  a  con- 
vention was  held  at  Peoria  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  a  system  of 
education  for  this  state.  The  con- 
vention was  attended  by  John  S. 
Wright  of  Chicago,  Judge  H.  M. 
Wead,  the  father  of  S.  D.  Wead, 
the  attorney,  Thos.  Kirkpatrick,  of 
Winchester,  and  some  others.  They 
prepared  a  memorial  to  the  Legis- 
lature, which  resulted  in  a  new 
school  law,  but  as  usual,  resulted 
in  very  little  benefit  to  schools; 
—in  fact,  a  new  school  law  was  en- 
acted at  almost  every  session  of  the 
Legislature,  and  repealed  by  the 

60 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

next.  The  different  school  laws 
enacted  by  our  Legislature  would 
make  a  very  large  volume  if  pub- 
lished together. 

John  Porter  taught  here  in  1844 
in  a  schoolhouse  on  the  bluff  side 
of  Washington  street,  between 
Main  and  Fulton  streets,  and  after- 
wards in  the  Congregational 
church.  He  afterwards  bought  the 
lot  on  Main  street  and  built  the 
building  now  occupied  by  McFad- 
den  as  a  bakery.  He  taught  two 
or  three  terms  in  that  building. 
His  wife  also  assisted  him  and 
taught  music.  His  son,  Gib,  then 
a  chunk  of  a  boy,  assisted  in  teach- 
ing the  young  children.  Mrs.  Harry 
Van  Buskirk  remembers  that  Gib 
Porter  taught  her  her  letters- 
While  this  building  was  beingmade 
ready  he  lived  on  Fulton  street  in 
the  building  across  from  the  City 
Hall,  now  lately  torn  down.  He 

61 


THR  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

afterwards  moved  his  family  back 
to  Massachusetts.  He  was  killed 
by  the  explosion  of  a  boiler  near 
Morris  in  Grundy  county.  Henry 
T.  Baldwin,  Jacob  and  Peter  Frye, 
Clint  Farrell,  the  Rouse  boys,  Lem 
Lindsay  and  Vic  Hamlin,  now  the 
wife  of  Harry  Van  Buskirk,  were 
among  his  pupils. 

Mr.  Hooper  taught  up-stairs 
about  where  Clarke's  Dry  Goods 
Store  on  Adams  Street  is.  He 
probably  taught  in  1846.  Hooper 
was  a  fat  old  man,  and  was  in  the 
habit  of  taking  a  nap  after  dinner. 
Sometimes,  however,  he  would 
"possum"  on  the  boys.  On  one  oc- 
casion he  lay  with  his  head  on  his 
desk,  apparently  asleep,  when  one 
of  the  boys  on  a  seat  near  him 
made  some  noise.  Instantly  the 
old  man  was  awake  and  as  he  could 
not  tell  which  boy  was  at  fault,  he 
deliberately  thrashed  the  whole 


TEACHERS  OK  EARI.Y  PEORIA. 

bench  of  boys,  remarking,  they 
probably  deserved  it  anyway.  Hen- 
ry T.  Baldwin  and  the  two  Merwin 
boys  can  remember  and  tell  about 
this. 

William  Frisby  taught  in  the 
old  Lowry  Church  in  1844.  Valen- 
entine  Schlink  was  one  of  his  pu- 
pils. He  did  not  teach  a  full  term. 
Business  called  him  out  of  town 
and  Ephraim  Hinman  taught  the 
remainder  of  the  term.  He  was 
not  a  teacher;  he  was  a  lawyer  and 
taught  school  for  lack  of  something 
better  to  do. 

Jim  Anderson,  the  house  mover, 
who  turned  the  church  around,  said 
he  used  to  go  to  school  in  it.  Mur- 
ry  Blakesley,  Johnson  Cole  and 
Valentine  Schlink  were  also  pupils 
at  that  school. 

Hinman  also  taught  in  this  old 
Church.  Val.  Schlink  distinctly 
remembers  going  to  school  there. 

63 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI<Y  PEORIA. 

dette  has  written  up  this  Hinman 
school  better  than  I  can,  and  let 
Bob  tell  the  story: 

THE  STRIKE  AT  HINMAN'S. 

Away  back  in  the  fifties,  k'Hinman's"  was 
not  only  the  best  school  in  Peoria,  but  it  was 
the  greatest  school  in  the  world.  I  sincerely 
thought  so  then,  and  as  I  was  a  very  lively 
part  of  it,  I  should  know.  Mr.Hinman  was  the 
Faculty,  and  he  was  sufficiently  numerous  to 
demonstrate  cube  root  with  one  hand  and 
maintain  discipline  with  the  other.  Dear  old 
man;  boys  and  girls  with  grandchildren  love 
him  to-day,  and  think  of  him  among  their 
blessings.  He  was  superintendent  of  public 
instruction,  board  of  education,  school  trus- 
tee, county  superintendent,  principal  of  the 
high  school  and  janitor.  He  had  a  pleasant 
smile,  a  genius  for  mathematics,  and  a  West 
Point  idea  of  obedienee  and  discipline.  He 
carried  upon  his  person  a  grip  that  would 
make  the  imported  malady  which  mocks  that 
name  in  these  degenerate  days,  call  itself 
Slack,  in  very  terror  at  having  assumed  the 
wrong  title. 

We  used  to  have  "General  Exercises"  on 
Friday  afternoon.  The  most  exciting  feature 
of  this  weekly  frivolity  consisted  of  a  free- 
for-all  exercise  in  mental  arithmetic.  Mr. 
Hinman  gave  out  lists  of  numbers,  be- 
ginning with  easy  ones  and  speaking  slowly; 

65 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

each  succeeding  list  he  dictated  more  rapidly 
and  with  ever  increasing-  complications  of 
addition,  subtraction,  multiplication  and  di- 
vision, until  at  last  he  was  giving-  them  out 
faster  than  he  could  talk.  One  by  one  the 
pupils  dropped  out  of  the  race  with  despair- 
ing faces,  but  always  at  the  closing  peremp- 
tory: 

"Answer?" 

At  least  a  dozen  hands  shot  into  the  air 
and  as  many  voices  shouted  the  correct  re- 
sult. We  didn't  have  many  books,  and  the 
curriculum  of  an  Illinois  school  in  those  days 
was  not  academic;  but  two  things  the  chil- 
dren could  do,  they  could  spell  as  well  as  the 
dictionary  and  they  could  handle  figures. 
Some  of  the  fellows  fairly  wallowed  in  them. 
I  didn't.  I  simply  drowned  in  the  shal- 
lowest pond  of  numbers  that  ever  spread  it- 
self on  the  page.  As  even  unto  this  day  I  do 
the  same. 

Well,  one  year  the  Teacher  introduced  an 
innovation;  "compositions"  by  the  girls  and 
"speakin*  pieces"  by  the  boys.  It  was  easy 
enough  for  the  girls,  who  had  only  to  read 
the  beautiful  thought  that  "spring  is  the 
pleasantest  season  of  the  year."  Now  and 
then  a  new  girl  from  the  east,  awfully  pre- 
cise, would  begin  her  essay  —  "spring  is  the 
most  pleasant  season  of  the  year,"  and  her 
would  we  call  down  with  derisive  laughter, 
whereat  she  walked  to  her  seat,  very  stiffly, 
with  a  proud  dry-eyed  look  in  her  face,  only 
66 


TEACHERS  OF   EARI,Y   PEORIA 

to  lay  her  head  upon  her  desk  when  she 
reached  it,  and  weep  silently  until  school 
closed.  But  "speakin'  pieces"  did  not  meet 
with  favor  from  the  boys,  save  one  or  two 
good  boys  who  were  in  training-  by  their  pa- 
rents for  congressmen  or  presidents. 

The  rest  of  us,  who  were  just  boys,  with  no 
desire  ever  to  be  anything  else,  endured  the 
tyranny  of  compulsory  oratory  about  a 
month,  and  then  resolved  to  abolish  the 
whole  business  by  a  general  revolt.  Big  and 
little,  we  agreed  to  stand  by  each  other,  break 
up  the  new  exercise,  and  get  back  to  the  old 
order  of  things — the  hurdle  races  in  mental 
arithmetic  and  the  geographical  chants 
which  we  could  run  ard  intone  together. 

Was  I  a  mutineer?  Weil,  say,  son,  your  Pa 
was  a  constituent  conspirator.  He  was  in 
the  color  guard.  You  see,  the  first  boy  called 
on  for  a  declamation  was  to  annonnce  the 
strike,  and  as  my  name  stood  very  high — in 
the  alphabetical  roll  of  pupils — I  had  an  ex- 
cellent chance  of  leading  the  assaulting  col- 
umn, a  distinction  for  which  I  was  not  at  all 
ambitious,  being  a  stripling  of  tender  years, 
ruddy  countenance,  and  sensitive  feelings. 
However,  I  stiffened  the  sinews  of  my  soul, 
girded  on  mj-  armor  by  slipping  an  atlas 
back  under  my  jacket  and  was  ready  for  the 
fray,  feeling  a  little  terrified  shiver  of  de- 
light as  I  thought  that  the  first  lick  Mr.  Hin- 
man  gave  me  would  make  him  think  he  had 
broken  my  back. 

67 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

The  hour  for  "speakin'  pieces,"  an  hour 
big  with  fate,  arrived  on  time.  A  boy  named 
Aby  Abbott  was  called  up  ahead  of  me,  but 
he  happened  to  be  one  of  the  presidential  as- 
pirants (he  was  mate  on  an  Illinois  river 
steamboat,  stern- wheeler  at  that,  the  last  I 
knew  of  him),  and  of  course  he  flunked  and 
"said"  his  piece — a  sadly  prophetic  selection 
— "Mr.  President,  it  is  natural  for  man  to  in- 
dulge in  the  illusions  of  hope."  We  made 
such  suggestive  and  threatening  gestures  at 
him,  however,  when  Mr.  Hintnan  wasn't 
looking,  that  he  forgot  half  his  "piece," 
broke  down  and  cried.  He  also  cried  after 
school,  a  little  more  bitterly,  and  with  far 
better  reason. 

Then,  after  an  awful  pause,  in  which  the 
conspirators  could  hear  the  beating  of  each 
other's  hearts,  my  name  was  called. 

I  sat  still  at  my  desk  and  said: 

"I  aint  goin'  to  speak  no  piece." 

Mr.  Hinman  looked  gently  surprised  and 
asked: 

"Why  not,  Robert?" 

I  replied: 

"Because  there  ain't  goin'  to  be  any  more 
speakin'  pieces." 

The  teacher's  eyes  grew  round  and  big  as 
he  inquired: 

"Who  says  there  will  not?" 

I  said,  in  slightly  firmer  tones,  as  I  realized 
that  the  moment  had  come  for  dragging  the 
rest  of  the  rebels  into  court: 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

"All  of  us  boys!" 

But  Mr.  Hinman  smiled  and  said  quietly 
that  he  guessed  there  would  be  "a  little  more 
speaking-  before  the  close  of  the  session." 
Then  laying-  his  hand  on  my  shoulder,  with 
most  punctilious  but  chilling-  courtesy,  he  in- 
vited me  to  the  rostrum.  The  "rostrum"  was 
twenty-five  feet  distant,  but  I  arrived  there 
on  schedule  time  and  only  touched  my  feet 
to  the  floor  twice  on  my  way. 

And  then  and  there,  under  Mr.  Hinman's 
judicious  coaching-,  before  the  assembled 
school,  with  feeling-s,  nay,  emotions  which  I 
now  shudder  to  recall,  I  did  my  first  "song 
and  dance."  Many  times  before  had  I  stepped 
off  a  solo-cachuca  to  the  staccato  pleasing  of 
a  fragment  of  slate  frame,  upon  which  my 
tutor  was  a  gifted  performer,  but  never  until 
that  day  did  I  accompany  myself  with  words. 
Boy  like,  I  had  chosen  for  my  "piece7'  a  poem 
sweetly  expressive  of  those  peaceful  virtues 
which  I  most  heartily  despised.  So  that  my 
performance,  at  the  inauguration  of  the 
strike,  as  Mr.  Hinman  conducted  the  over- 
ture, ran  something  like  this — 

"Oh,  not  for  me  (whack)  is  the  rolling  (wha«k)  drum, 
Or  the  (whack,  wh;ick)  trumpet's  wild  (whack) 
appeal  (Boo-hoo!) 

Or  the  cry  (.swish— whack)  of  (boo-hoo-hoo ! )  war  when 
the  (whack)  foe  is  come  (ouch!) 

Or  the  (ow— wow!)  brightly  (whack)  flashing  (whack- 
whack)  steel!  (wah-hoo,  wah-hoo!)" 

Words  and  symbols  can  not  convey  to  the 
most  gifted  imagination  the  gestures  with 

69 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE? 

which  I  illustrated  the  seven  stanzas  of  this 
beautiful  poem.  I  had  really  selected  it  to 
please  my  mother,  whom  I  had  invited  to  be 
present,  when  I  supposed  I  wonld  deliver  it- 
But  the  fact  that  she  attended  a  missionary 
meeting  in  the  Baptist  church  that  afternoon 
made  me  a  friend  of  missions  forever.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  then,  that  my  pantomime  kept  pace 
and  time  with  Mr.  Hinman's  system  of  punc- 
tuation until  the  last  line  was  sobbed  and 
whacked  out.  I  groped  my  bewildered  way 
to  my  seat  through  a  mist  of  tears  *and  sat 
down  gingerly  and  sideways,  inly  wondering 
why  an  inscrutable  providence  had  given  ta 
the  rugged  rhinoceros  the  hide  which  the 
eternal  fitness  of  things  had  plainly  prepared 
for  the  school-boy. 

But  I  quickly  forgot  my  own  sorrow  an<$ 
dried  my  tears  with  laughter  in  the  enjoy* 
ment  of  the  subsequent  acts  of  the  opera,  as* 
the  chorus  developed  the  plot  and  action.  Mr. 
Hinman,  who  had  been  somewhat  gentle 
with  me,  dealt  firmly  with  the  larger  boy 
who  followed,  and  the' e  was  a  scene  of  rev- 
elry for  the  next  twenty  minutes.  The  old 
man  shook  Bill  Morrison  until  his  teeth  rat- 
tled so  you  couldn't  hear  him  cry.  He  hit 
Mickey  McCann,  the  tough  boy  from  the 
Ivower  Prairie,  and  Mickey  ran  out*  and  lay 
down  in  the  snow  to  cool  off.  He  hit  Jake 
Bailey  across  the  legs  with  a  slate  frame,  and 
it  hurt  so  that  Jake  couldn't  howl — he  just 
opened  his  mouth  wide,  held  up  his-  hands,. 

70 


OF  EAR^Y  PE'ORIA. 

gasped,  and  forgot  his  own  name.  He 
pushed  Bill  Haskell  into  a  seat  and  the  bench 
broke. 

He  ran  across  the  room  and  reached  out 
for  L,em  Harkins,  and  I^em  had  a  fit  before 
the  old  man  touched  him.  He  shook  Dan 
Stevenson  for  two  minutes,  and  when  he  let 
him  go,  Dan  walked  around  his  own  desk 
five  times  before  fre  could  find  it,  and  then  he 
wouldn't  sit  down  without  holding-  on.  He 
whipped  the  two  Itnowltons  with  a  skatestrap 
in  each  hand  at  the  same  time;  the  "Green- 
wood family,  five  boys  and  a  big-  girl,  he 
whipped  all  at  once  with  a  girl's  skipping 
rope,  and  they  raised  such  a  united  wail  that 
the  clock  stopped. 

He  took  a  twist  in  Bill  Rodecker's  front 
hair,  and  Bill  slept  with  his  eyes  open  for  a 
week.  He  kept  tire  atmosphere  t>f  that 
school-room  full  of  dust  and  splinters,  and 
lint,  weeping,  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth, 
until  he  reached  the  end  of  the  alphabet  and 
all  hearts  ached  and  wearied  of  the  inhuman 
strife  and  wicked  contention.  Then  he  stood 
-up  before  tis,  a  sickening  tangle  of  slate 
frame,  strap,  ebony  ferule  and  skipping  rope-* 
a  smile  on  his  kind  old  face,  and  asked,  in 
tilear,  triumphant  tones: 

"WHO  says  there  isn't  going  to  be  any 
more  speaking  pieces?" 

And  every  last  boy  in  that  school  sprang 
to  his  feet;  standing  there  as  one  human  be- 


71 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

ing  with  one  great  mouth,  we  shrieked  in 
concerted  anguish: 

"NOBODY  DON'T!" 

And  your  Pa,  my  son,  who  led  that  strike, 
has  been  "speakin'  pieces"  ever  since. 

Hinman  afterwards  taught  in 
the  public  schools.  It  was  proba- 
bly one  of  these  schools  where  the 
strike  so  graphically  described,  oc- 
curred. Hinman  is  living,  a  hale 
old  gentleman  at  Los  Angeles,  Cal- 
ifornia. 

About  1846  or  1847,  Alfred 
Washburn  taught  school  in  the 
same  place.  He  was  a  brother  of 
Cephas  Hercules  Washburn,  well 
remembered  by  most  old  citizens. 
Washburn  also  taught  over  the 
old  Postoffice  Building,  which 
stood  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Adams  street,  where  R.  D, 
McDougal's  Drug  Store  stands.  P. 
C.  Bartlett  and  Clint  Farrell  at- 
tended this  school.  Washburn  was 
a  fair  teacher,  a  little  inclined  to 

72 


TEACHERS  OF  EARtY 
let  things  take  their  course.  He 
went  from  here  to  New  Orleans, 
where  he  married  and  went  to  Cal- 
ifornia, where,  it  is  said,  he  died. 
He  was  a  small  man  and  very  quick 
on  his  feet. 

Samuel  L.  Coulter,  who  was  an 
uncle  of  the  late  Wm.  E.  Stone, 
taught  school  in  1848  in  a  little 
brick  building,  nearly  opposite  the 
National  Hotel,  on  the  rear  of  the 
lot  occupied  by  the  late  Harvey 
Lightner's  residence,  in  a  building" 
built  for  a  Swedenborgian  Church* 
His  school  was  exclusively  for  boys, 
and  it  is  believed  that  that  is  the 
first  school  in  Peoria  where  the 
children  of  different  sexes  were 
separated.  He  afterwards  taught 
in  the  basement  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  a  school  for  boys  and  girls, 
Miss  Sophia  Lalanne,  a  sister  of 
his  wife,  was  his  assistant.  Miss 
Kidder,  now  Mrs.  Reinhart,  Mrs. 


$ Hfc  SCHOOtS  Afrfc 

Henry  T.  Baldwin,  the  Lightnef 
girls,  Martha  Calhoun  and  Mary 
Powell  were  among  his  pupils.  Miss 
Sophia  Lalanne  afterwards  went 
to  California,  ahd  about  1882  was 
the  wife  of  Judge  Byers  of  Stock^ 
ton,  Cal.  Oh  one  occasion  Mrs.  H. 
T.  Baldwin  was  registered  at  one 
of  the  hotels  in  Stockton,  as  resid^ 
ing  in  Peoria,  and  Mrs.Judge  Ryers 
called  to  make  some  inquiry  about 
Peoria  people,  when  a  little  con^ 
versation  revealed  the  fact  that 
she  was  the  teacher  and  Mrs.  Bald^ 
win  was  one  of  the  pupils  in  the  old 
school  at  Peoria  almost  forty  years 
before. 

About  1846  of  1847,  the  Rev.  j. 
S.  Chamberlain,  an  old  time  Epis^ 
copalean  clergyman,  now  rector  of 
that  church  at  Jubilee,  taught  a 
select  school  in  a  room  over  what 
was  then  Pettengill's  store.  Henry 
T.  Baldwin  was  one  of  his  pupils* 

74 


F  EARtv 

The  building  stood  at  No.  203  Mali! 
street,  and  is  now  occupied  by  thd 
Peoria  Soiine  newspaper  office.  Mr. 
Chamberlain  was  a  fin£  teacher  and 
an  excellent  man.  Few  teachers 
with  his  merit  afe  so  modest  and 
retiring  as  he,  As  a  clergyman  he 
has  for  fifty  yeafs  been  held  in 
high  esteem  as  an  exemplary  mart 
and  teacher  in  all  respects  by  his 
parishioners  and  the  public.  He  is 
a  tall,  spare  old  gentleman  and  is 
now  quite  deaf. 

In  1848  he  built  a  school  house 
on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Monroe 
street,  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by 
St.  Paul's  Church,  and  opened  a 
school  for  boys.  It  is  best  to  let 
him  tell  the  story  himself,  though 
his  letter  was  not  written  with  any 
idea  of  its  publication. 


THE  SCHOOtS  AND  THE 

JUBILEE,  Iw,.,  Jan.  15,  1900. 
tt.  W.  WEL,LS,  ESQ., 

Peoria,  111. 

DEAR  SIR:—  *  *  *  In  A.  D.  1848,  I 
opened  a  school  in  a  small  building,  erected 
by  me  for  the  purpose  on  a  lot  owned  by  St. 
Paul's  parish,  on  N.  W.  cor.  Main  and  Mon- 
roe Sts.,  your  city.  This  school  I  continued 
for  about  ten  quarters.  The  sittings  provi* 
ded  were  twenty-eight  and  were  uniformly 
all  occupied  by  pupils,  these  being  limited  to 
boys  over  twelve. 

Among  those  in  attendance  were  Henry 
Rouse,  son  of  Dr.  Rouse  J  three  sons  of  Mr. 
John  Burkett;  three  sons  from  the  Voria 
family  and  George  Bestor.  Mr.  Davis,  edi- 
tor of  Peoria's  newspaper,  also  had  a  bright 
son  amongst  our  pupils  during  the  whole 
time  of  the  schools  continuance.  But  it  was 
more  than  fifty  years  ago,  my  brother,  that 
these  things  occurred  and  my  memory  fails 
to  recall  the  names  of  others,  whose  persons 
I  recollect. 

My  school  was  entirely  subordinate  to  my 
church  work  and  was  resorted  to  solely  that 
I  might  live  while  working  to  build  the  con* 
gregation  and  church  edifice  of  St.  Paul's 
parish  on  an  annual  salary  from  my  bishop 
of  $100.  And  this  church  work,  by  the  di- 
vine blessing,  the  little  school  made  possible. 
In  its  hired  room  the  congregation  grew.  A 
few  paces  from  the  school  the  church  build- 
ing arose  and  was  completed  at  a  cost  of 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

about  $4000.  And  my  work  and  that  of  the 
school  were  thus  ended  happily.  You  will 
not  wonder  that  I  am  very  sensitive  to  all 
these  things  and  that  my  heart  goes  out 
with  all  it  has  of  gratitude  to  offer  it  to  Him, 
whose  blessing  enabled  me  and  my  little 
school  to  do  so  good  a  work, 

Your  friend  and  servant  for   j?  * 

J.  S.  CHAMBERLAIN. 

Rev.  Chamberlain  afterwards 
opened  a  school  for  girls,  called  St. 
Mary's  Academy,  in  the  building 
on  the  bluff,  built  by  Captain  Moss, 
afterwards  occupied  by  G.  C.  Bes- 
tor.  Mr.  Chamberlain  bought  the 
house  and  opened  his  school  under 
the  promises  of  an  endowment  suf- 
ficient to  maintain  it.  The  school 
was  opened  and  went  along  swim- 
mingly until  it  began  to  need  funds, 


*  The  monogram  X  at  the  end  of  the  above  letter 
may  not  be  understood  by  all.  It  is  an  abbreviation 
of  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  used  by  churchmen  of 
the  old  times.  It  is  the  cross  the  Emperor  Constan- 
tino saw  in  the  sky  the  night  before  his  victory  over 
Maxentius,  surrounded  by  the  motto:  "/«  hoc  signo 
vt'nces."  It  is  called  the  Cross  of  Constantino.  .It  is 
from  the  first  two  letters  of  the  Greek  word  Christos, 
the  X  (Chi)  and  P  (Rho)  united  in  the  form  shown. 

77 


SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

when  the  parties  who  had  promised 
to  furnish  them,  slipped  out  and 
left  Mr.  Chamberlain  with  the  ob- 
ligation on  his  hands  and  no 
money.  The  school  was  of  course 
obliged  to  suspend  and  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain saddled  with  debt,  was 
broken  hearted. 

About  this  date,  Isaac  Under- 
hill,  who  was  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Peoria,  offered  a  gold  watch  as 
a  prize  to  the  best  speaker  among 
the  children  in  the  schools  of  Peo- 
ria. The  contest  came  off  in  the 
court  house;  the  contestants  were 
numerous,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course,  the  audience  was  large. 
After  an  exciting  contest,  the  judges 
awarded  the  prize  to  Sanford  Rich- 
ardson, and  gave  him  the  watch. 
It  is  said  the  award  caused  some 
heart  burnings  at  the  time. 

Mrs.  Walker  taught  school  in 
the  basement  of  the  old  Baptist 

78 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

Church  on  Hamilton  street,  just 
below  where  the  County  Jail  now 
stands.  The  church  was  built  in 
1847  while  the  Rev.  Isaac  D.  New- 
ell was  pastor  and  the  basement  at 
times  was  occupied  as  a  school 
room.  Mrs.  Walker  was  a  member 
of  the  church  and  was  probably  the 
first  to  teach  in  its  basement.  She 
is  said  to  have  been  a  large,  fine 
lady,  considerably  above  the  ordi- 
nary size  for  women.  Linn  McCoy 
was  one  of  her  pupils,  unquestion- 
ably there  were  others,  but  their 
names  have  been  forgotten. 

Mrs.  Gustorf  about  1849  taught 
on  the  corner  of  Hamilton  and 
Madison  streets,  near  where  the 
Russell  property  is.  Mrs.  Henry 
T.  Baldwin  was  one  of  her  pupils, 
Tom  Griffiths  another.  Mrs.  Gus- 
torf afterwards  taught  on  Eaton 
street  in  the  rear  of  where  the 
Academy  of  the  Sacred  Heart  now 

79 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

stands.  She  was  an  English  lady 
of  fine  appearance  and  education 
and  an  excellent  teacher.  She  was 
the  mother  of  Mrs.  Wm.  E.  Stone. 
Mrs.  Stevens  taught  in  a  little 
brick  house  on  the  corner  of  Madi- 
son and  Eaton  streets.  She  was  a 
widow  lady  about  40  and  well  qual- 
ified as  a  teacher,  but  not  very  pop- 
ular with  her  scholars  She  was 
rather  free  with  her  rod  and  very 
free  with  reproof.  Whipping  min- 
gled with  prayers  was  her  long 
suit.  Sam  Calhoun  was  among  her 
pupils.  On  one  occasion  she  ac- 
cused Sam  of  throwing  a  spitball. 
Sam,  then  an  unregenerate  little 
villain  of  eight,  stoutly  denied  it, 
whereupon  the  teacher  took  him 
upstairs  and  after  compelling  him 
to  kneel,  she  prayed  over  him  and 
licked  him  doughtily  for  lying.  It 
afterwards  appeared  that  Sam's 
story  was  true.  An  apology  was 

80 


TEACHERS   OF   EARI,Y   PEORIA. 

due  and  a  nice  tart  to  Sam.  It  is 
probably  still  due. 

Thos. Griffiths  taught  about  1851 
on  Jefferson  street,  near  where  the 
Hamlin  Block  is  now  situated.  Geo* 
Bestor,  Jackson  Mayer  and  Onslow 
Peters,  Jr.,  were  among  his  pupils. 

He  afterwards  taught  between 
Fulton  street  and  Liberty  on  Jef- 
ferson street  in  1854.  Charles  Bal- 
lance,  James  and  Samuel  Thomp- 
son, Eugene  Peters  and  Thomas 
Griffiths  were  his  pupils  at 
that  school.  He  was  an  excellent 
old  gentleman  and  a  great  favorite 
with  his  pupils.  He  was  the  first 
librarian  of  the  Peoria  Public  Li- 
brary. He  died  many  years  ago. 

Mrs.  Walker  taught  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  old  Baptist  church  on 
Hamilton  street,  just  below  where 
the  County  Jail  now  stands.  The 
church  was  built  about  1847,  while 
Rev.  Isaac  D.  Newell  was  pastor 

81 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

and  the  basement  was  at  times  oc- 
cupied as  a  school  room.  Mrs. 
Walker  was  a  member  of  the 
church  and  probably  the  first  teach- 
er in  its  basement.  She  is  said  to 
have  been  a  large,  fine  looking 
woman,  considerably  above  the  or- 
dinary size.  Linn  McCoy  was  one 
of  her  pupils;  probably  there  are 
others  here,  but  none  have  been 
found. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Huntoon,  late  in 
the  forties,  taught  on  Washington 
street,  between  Main  and  Fulton. 
He  was  a  Boston  man  and  a  fine 
teacher.  He  had  over  thirty  schol- 
ars, among  whom  were  P.  C.  Bart- 
lett,  John  Kuhn  and  Johnson  Cole. 
He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Moses 
Pettengill.  He  died  many  years 
ago.  His  son  was  at  one  time  in 
the  Dry  Goods  business  on  Main 
street. 

82 


TEACHEKS  OF  EARI^Y   PEORIA 

The  following  letter  from  Capt. 
S.  F.  Otman  speaks  for  itself: 

WYOMING,  lu,.,  April  18,  1900. 
MY  DEAR  MAJOR  WEU,S— 

Your  letter  regarding-  schools  came  to 
hatid.  *  *  *  I  taught  two  terms  in  Peoria 
during  the  winter  of  1849  and  1850.  There 
were  at  that  time  four  public  schools  in  the 
city  and  designated  as  the  1st,  2nd,  3rd  and 
4th  Ward  schools. 

The  1st  Ward  school  was  located  I  think 
on  Hanison  street,  between  Washington  and 
Adams  streets,  and  taught  by  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Conner,  a  you  ug  irishman. 

The  2nd  was  near  what  was  called  the 
State  House  Square,  and  the  teacher's  name 
was  Hinman,  who  taught  there  several  years 
and  was  quite  successful  as  a  teacher. 

The  3rd  Ward  school,  which  was  mine, 
was  located  on  Perry  street,  between  Fayette 
and  Jackson,  on  the  bluff  side  of  the  street. 

The  4th  was  located  on  North  Washington 
street,  near  Eaton,  and  was  next  to  the  old 
jail  and  the  teacher  was  D.  M.  Cum  wings. 

I  can  now  recall  but  a  very  few  among 
my  scholarst  living  in  Peoria;  Charles  and 
Edward  Easton,  James  Ward,  John  M.  Simp- 
son, three  Warner  boys,  George  and  Harry 
McClelland,  who  were  the  last  I  knew  of 
them  in  Chicago.  School  matters  were  in 
poor  shape  at  that  time.  Each  ward  had 
three  school  director-  and  the  teacher  was 

83 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

employed  at  a  salary,  which  he  had  to  pro- 
rata  among  the  patrons  of  the  school  and 
collect  his  salary  from  them.  There  was  no 
public  school  fund.  I  had  some  young  men 
as  scholars,  who  were  larger  and  older  than 
I  was,  but  they  as  a  rule  were  easy  to  man- 
age. The  directors  of  the  3rd  Ward  school 
were  George  Greenwood,  John  Waugh  and 
Abram  Fash.  I  have  to  depend  on  my  mem- 
ory in  regard  to  these  matters  and  as  it  is 
now  fifty  years  since  I  quit  teaching,  I  can 
recall  but  little  that  transpired  in  those  days. 
Very  respectfully  yours. 

S.  F.  OTMAN. 

Captain  Otman  is  employed  on 
the  Revenue  force  here  in  Peoria, 
and  is  an  excellent  man.  In  1861 
he  enlisted  and  was  elected  Cap- 
tain of  one  of  the  companies  in 
the  1 1 2th  Illinois  Volunteers 
and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  since  which  time  he  has  re- 
sided at  Wyoming. 

The  foregoing  letter  is  the  only 
information  I  have  or  can  find  of 
the  teacher  named  as  Conner.  It 
seems,  however,  that  there  was  a 

84 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

teacher  of  that  name  who  taught 
on  Harrison  street,  between  Adams 
and  Washington.  He  seems  to 
have  disappeared  behind  fifty  years 
which  have  since  intervened. 

Since  the  foregoing  was  in  type, 
I  am  in  receipt  of  the  following  let- 
ter from  Samuel  Lowry,  son  of  the 
Samuel  Lowry,  who  built  the 
old  church  in  1835,  which  mentions 
Geo.  H.  Quigg  as  a  teacher  here  in 
1835  on  the  northwest  corner  of 
Adams  and  Fulton  streets.  This 
means  in  Hunt's  row  before  men- 
tioned. From  Ballance  history  it 
may  be  learned  that  Quigg  was  a 
tall  Irishman,  who  had  a  high  opin- 
ion of  himself.  He  was  at  one  time 
employed  by  Wm.  L.  May  to  run 
the  ferry,  about  which  there  was 
much  contention.  He  lived  after- 
wards in  a  very  pretty  one-story 
frame  cottage  at  the  southeast  cor. 
of  Jefferson  and  Fulton  streets.  Mr. 

85 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

Garrett  says  he  saw  him  in  Chicago 
before  the  great  fire;  that  his 
daughter  taught  school  in  Henry. 

ST.  Louis,  April  24,  1900. 
H  W.  WELLS,  ESQ., 

Peoria,  111., 

DEAR  SIR:— Your  letter  of  20th  inst,  ad- 
dressed to  Cincinnati,  has  been  forwarded  to 
me  here  where  I  am  now  residing-.  In  re- 
sponse to  your  inquiries  I  would  say  that  no 
school  was  ever  held  in  the  old  church  to 
which  you  refer.*  In  1838,  when  I  was  about 
eleven  years  of  age,  I  attended  a  school  that 
was  held  in  the  "Main  Street  Presbyterian 
Church",  located  on  the  East  side  of  Main 
street,  half  block  north  of  the  Public  square. 
The  teachers  name  was  Douglas.  This  may 
be  the  school  you  are  seeking-  to  trace. 

Previously,  in  1835,  I  was  a  scholar  in  a 
small  school,  held  in  a  room  on  the  upper 
side  of  Adams  street,  just  west  of  Fulton, 
— the  teacher's  name  was  Quigg. 

In  1837  I  attended  a  school  held  in  the  sec- 
ond story  of  a  building-  on  the  west  side  of 
Main  street,  south  of  Washington,  taught 
by  Mr.  Winslow.  In  1839  Rev.  Benjamin 
Huntoon  had  a  school  on  Washington  street, 
east  of  Fulton. 

The  same  year  the  Peoria  Academy  was 
started  by   Rev.   David  Page  in  a  building 
on  the  upper  side  of  Adams,  east  of  Fulton. 
*  The  schools  were  after  Lowry  left. 
86 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

Later  removed  several  blocks  north  and 
west  to  a  building-  purchased  and  enlarged 
by  Mr.  Page,  which  was  the  first  building- 
devoted  exclusively  to  school  purposes  in 
Peoria. 

My  father  (whose  name  I  bear)  was  a 
school  trustee  I  think  in  1837-39.  The  church, 
sometimes  called  "Lowry's  Church, "  was  a 
frame  building  erected  in  1835,  upon  a  large 
lot  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Adams  and 
Jackson  streets.  If  the  building  is  still 
standing  it  is  not  upon  that  ground.  My 
father's  residence,  a  frame  cottage,  built  in 
1836,  was  directly  opposite  on  the  upper  side 
of  Adams,  and  when  I  was  last  in  Peoria, 
about  ten  years  ago,  it  was  still  there.  The 
frame  house*  of  those  days  were  built  to 
last — the  frame  of  oak,  the  weather  boarding 
of  black  walnut,  and  the  floor  of  yellow  pine. 

The  congregation  that  built  the  church 
was  organized  in  December  1834  in  my  fa- 
ther's dwelling,  then  on  Water  street,  the 
second  house  west  of  Hamilton.  The  details 
of  its  history  and  of  Mr.  Kellar's  connection 
with  it,  are  I  think  in  the  possession  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church. 

If  these  statements  are  of  use  to  you  it 
gives  me  pleasure  to  furnish  them.  I  still 
cherish  a  warm  feeling-  for  the  home  of  my 
school  boy  days. 

Yours  truly, 

SAMUEI*  LOWRY. 
2803  Russell  Ave. 
87 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

Mr.  Fey  taught  in  the  old  Con- 
gregational Church ;  he  is  described 
as  a  small  man,  a  fairly  good 
teacher,  but  I  can  get  no  particu- 
lars about  him  except  that  he  was 
a  Yankee  and  was  always  well 
dressed. 

About  1848  a  Miss  Ellis  taught 
in  the  basement  of  the  old  Baptist 
Church.  Some  time  after  she  went 
to  Alton  where  she  taught  school 
a  short  time  and  afterwards  mar- 
ried a  wealthy  manufacturer  of 
that  city.  She  is  believed  to  be 
residing  there  now. 

Anastatia  Joyce  taught  in  a  two- 
story  frame  building  that  stood  on 
the  northwest  corner  of  Hamilton 
and  Monroe  streets  in  1847.  The 
family  afterwards  moved  to  Block 
34  in  Taylor  &  Blakely's  Addition, 
near  where  O.  C.  Parmelee  lived 
on  North  Jefferson  street.  They 

88 


ANASTASIA  JOYCE 
Teacher  from  1847  to  1857. 


TEACHERS   OF  EARtY   TEORlA* 

afterwards  moved  up  Jefferson 
street  near  the  corner  of  Wayne* 
Mrs.  Joyce  continued  to  teach  until 
1857.  James  and  John  Dolan,  Miss 
Kate  Kelley,  Sam  Calhoun  and 
many  others  were  among  her  pu- 
pils. She  was  a  faithful  teacher 
and  many  young  business  man 
learned  his  letters  from  Mrs.Joyce, 
Her  husband  was  a  cooper.  He 
afterwards  moved  to  Livingston 
County  and  Mrs.  Joyce  died  near 
Chatsworth  in  1864.  She  is  de- 
scribed as  a  tall  woman,  dark  hair 
and  eyes  and  fair  skin.  Her  son, 
John  N.  Joyce,  lives  at  2520  South 
V/ashington  St. 

Mr.  Ferris  taught  in  a  little 
brick  school  house  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  Madison  and  Han- 
cock street.  Miss  Martha  Calhoun 
was  one  of  her  pupils,  and  speaks 
in  high  terms  of  her  teacher. 

89 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 
Chas.  Doty  taught  on  Walnut 
street,  just  below  Adams.  The 
foundation  of  the  large  two-story 
school  house,  which  once  stood  on 
the  corner  of  the  streets,  was  partly 
built  when  the  school  inspectors 
organized  and  completed  it.  Doty 
was  an  excellent  teacher,  with  a 
very  hot  temper  and  a  very  strict 
disciplinarian.  Miss  Virginia  Bal- 
lance  was  his  assistant.  The  boys  in 
this  school  were  large,  and  some 
of  them  boisterous  and  unruly  fel- 
lows. It  is  said  on  one  occasion 
they  determined  to  rebel, — at  least 
to  scare  the  teacher  if  he  should 
attempt  to  correct  any  one  of  them. 
The  occasion  soon  came.  He  at- 
tempted to  correct  one  of  his  big 
boys,  when  four  or  five  of  the  others 
came  to  the  boy's  rescue.  Some 
of  them  drew  knives  and  made 
noisy  threats  to  use  them.  Miss 
Virginia  Ballance,  now  Mrs.  Bash, 

90 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI.Y 

attracted  by  the  noise,  came  in 
from  the  next  room,  marching 
straight  into  the  melee,  she  com- 
manded the  boys  to  go  straight 
into  their  seats.  They  at  once 
slunk  away  and  the  row  quelled. 

The  Snow  family  is  famous  in 
the  history  of  schools  in  Peoria.  T. 
J.  Snow  came  here  from  Kentucky 
to  avoid  raising  his  family  in  a 
slave  state.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Brown  and  Harvard,  and  a  fine 
scholar.  He  died  about  two  years 
after,  leaving  a  wife  and  four  sons 
and  three  daughters.  The  two 
oldest  sons  took  charge  of  their 
father's  school,  then  on  Main  street, 
just  below  the  Post  Office.  In 
about  two  years  they  opened  a 
school  on  Fayette  street,  teaching 
higher  branches. 

In  1854  H.  O.  Snow  taught  in 
Chicago.  A  fire  destroyed  his 
school  in  1858  and  he  went  to  Ra- 


91 


THE  scnoots  AND  THE 
cine,    Wisconsin.      About   1870  he 
commenced  teaching  in  Kentucky, 
where  he  died  in   1895  after  fifty 
years  successful  teaching. 

O.  T.  Snow  taught  a  private 
school  in  Chicago  and  in  1862  re- 
moved to  Batavia,  where  he  was 
principal  of  the  public  school  for 
nearly  30  years.  He  died  in  1891. 
C.  P.  Snow  taught  in  the  public 
school  in  Peoria  and  while  teaching 
the  war  broke  out  and  he  at  once 
enlisted  as  a  private  and  was  pro- 
moted to  first  lieutenant.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  resumed  teach- 
ing in  Peoria  and  was  principal  of 
one  of  the  city  schools  for  about 
eight  years,  when  he  removed  to 
Princeton,  where  he  has  been  Su- 
perintendent of  city  schools  for  the 
major  part  of  thirty  years. 

H.  W.  Snow  was  also  a  teacher 
and  principal  in  Peoria.  He  en- 

92 


TEACHERS  OF    ttARI,Y   PEORIA. 

listed  in  the  army  and  was  chosen 
Lieut.  Colonel  isist  Regt.  Illinois 
Vols.,  and  was  Provost  Marshal  of 
Georgia.  He  was  afterwards  elect- 
ed to  Congress  on  the  Democratic 
Ticket  and  after  his  term  was 
elected  Sergeant  at  Arms  of  the 
house.  He  is  now  President  of  a 
bank  and  resides  at  Kankakee. 

Miss  Bonnie  Snow,  daughter  of 
J.  T.  Snow,  taught  several  years  in 
the  Peoria  High  School.  She 
finally  married  A.  C.  Little  of  Au- 
rora, where  she  now  resides.  Many 
of  our  best  business  men  received 
their  education  under  some  one  of 
the  Snows.  All  speak  of  them  in 
the  highest  terms  as  teachers  and 
excellent  men. 

In  1851  the  Methodist  Church 
obtained  a  charter  and  organized 
the  Wesleyan  Seminary  of  Peoria. 
They  purchased  the  Mitchell  house 

93 


THE  SCHOOI^S  AND  THE 
on  the  corner  of  Jefferson  and  Ful- 
ton streets,  and  opened  where  the 
"Star"  office  now  stands  with  con- 
siderable ceremony.  They  had  23 
trustees,  all  influential  men,  and  a 
good  attendance  of  scholars  fol- 
lowed. They  were,  however,  un- 
fortunate in  their  selection  of  their 
principal.  Ballance  says  he  was  a 
vile  hypocrite  and  filthy  debauchee. 
The  school  closed  before  it  had 
fairly  started. 

There  is  an  old  brick  school 
house  now  standing  at  322  North 
Washington  Street,  just  below  the 
site  of  the  old  jail.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  the  first  school  building  built 
in  Peoria  by  the  public.  It  was 
probably  built  in  1847  or  J848  by 
Wm.  Senior  as  contractor.  Mr. 
Phillips  did  the  brick  work.  It  was 
known  as  the  Fourth  Ward  school. 
The  building  was  an  excellent  one 

94 


TEACHERS   OF   EARLY   PEORIA. 

for  those  days  and  would  accom- 
modate about  80  scholars.  W.  H. 
Gowdy  is  said  to  be  the  first  teach- 
er. Chas.  Shaw  of  Chillicothe  was 
one  of  his  pupils.  Dave  Cummings 
also  taught  there  and  was  followed 
by  J.  B.  Paul.  Johnson  Cole  was  a 

pupil  of  Dave  Cummings  and  used 
to  assist  him  at  times  in  teaching. 
The  building  was  sold  many  years 
ago  and  is  now  occupied  as  a  tene- 
ment house.  When  built  it  was  in 
the  residence  part  par  excellence 
of  Peoria. 

C.  C.  Bonney  opened  a  school 
called  the  "Peoria  Institute"  No- 
vember 4th,  1850,  in  the  basement 
of  the  Baptist  Church.  The  school 
lasted  but  a  few  terms.  Bonney 
afterwards  studied  law  and  moved 
to  Chicago  where  he  now  is.  He 
had  charge  of  the  Congress  of  Re- 
ligions at  the  Worlds  Fair  in  1893. 

95 


THIS   SCHOOLS   AND   THE 

Bonney  was  followed  by  Dr.John 
Niglas  and  E.  S.  Wilcox.  They 
taught  in  the  basement  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church.  Dr.  Niglas  was  a  Ger- 
man and  as  well  and  favorably 
known  as  any  physician  in  Peoria. 
E.  S.  Wilcox  is  librarian  of  the 
Peoria  Public  Library  and  is  well 
known  to  our  citizens. 

Miss  Sarah  J.  Matthews  taught 
in  the  Girls  Stock  School  on  Jef- 
ferson street,  which  was  afterwards 
destroyed  by  fire.  After  that  she 
taught  in  the  brick  school  house, 
which  the  Association  built  at  the 
corner  of  Jackson  and  Adams.  Not 
long  after  she  became  the  wife  of 
Alexander  McCoy.  She  died  many 
years  ago.  Her  sister  Adalaid,  also 
a  teacher  here,  married  Geo.  Hard- 
ing, a  well  known  lawyer  of  Chica- 
go. She  had  considerable  trouble 
with  her  husband,  out  of  which 

96 


TKACHERS   OF   EARI,Y   PKORIA. 

grew  a  suit  for  divorce,  which  de- 
veloped much  bitterness. 

Miss  Clerk,  an  English  lady, 
taught  here  about  1853  on  Harri- 
son street,  at  No.  308,  on  the  ground 
now  occupied  by  Murphy's  Plumb- 
ing Shop.  Charles  Ballance  was 
one  of  her  pupils  and  describes  her 
as  a  fair  teacher. 

Miss  Helen  Partridge  taught  in 
the  school  afterv/ards  called  the 
Irving  school  in  1854.  She  was  a 
large  woman  of  fine  presence  and  a 
superior  teacher.  She  afterwards 
removed  to  Princeton,  where  she 
married  Mr.  P.  J.  Newell  and 
now  resides.  Frank  Newell  of 
Chicago,  late  of  Peoria,  is  her  son. 
Mrs.  Newell  says  there  was  a 
Teacher's  Association  in  Peoria  in 
1854,  gives  the  names  of  some  of 
the  members.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hovey, 
Sophia  Lalanne,  Miss  Sarah  and 

97 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

Adelaide  Matthews,  Miss  Laura 
Chambers,  Ephriam  Hinman,  D. 
McCulloch,  Dr.  Niglas,  O.T.Snow, 
J.  B.  Paul  and  others. 

David  McCulloch  came  here  in 
1853.  In  January  of  that  year  he 
began  teaching  a  classical  and  sci- 
entific school  in  the  basement  of 
the  old  Methodist  Church,  corner 
of  Madison  and  Fulton  streets.  He 
began  a  second  term  of  the  same 
school,  September  5th,  which  con- 
tinued eleven  weeks.  On  the  8th 
of  January,  1854,  he  taught  one  full 
term.  He  afterwards  rented  the 
room  over  the  old  Engine  House, 
229  North  Adams  street,  where  he 
taught  one  term.  He  also  filled 
out  a  term  for  Snow  on  Main  street. 
He  taught  nothing  but  the  higher 
branches  of  Mathematics  and  the 
classics.  Among  his  pupils  maybe 
named  Rollin  and  Portius  Whee- 
ler, Arthur  Rugg,  Linn  and  Wil- 

98 


TEACHERS  OF  EARLY  PEORIA. 

Ham  McCoy,  John  Dodge,  Phillip 
Brotherson  and  others.  With  the 
closing  of  the  term  last  mentioned 
his  career  as  a  teacher  was  over. 
He  began  studying  law  with  Man- 
ning &  Merriman.  His  subsequent 
career  as  a  lawyer  and  judge  are 
well  known  in  the  history  of  the 
state. 

The  two  Misses  Clark  taught  in 
the  old  Ballance  school  house  on 
Walnut  street,  below  Adams.  They 
kept  the  last  school  taught  in  that 
house.  They  were  very  precise 
ladies,  but  good  teachers.  One 
thing  mav  be  noticed.  They  re- 
quired a  contract  with  parents  of 
pupils,  that  the  children  should  be 
clean  and  neatly  dressed  each  day, 
before  they  were  sent  to  school.  It 
was  a  departure  from  customary 
methods  in  education,  but  the  de- 
parture was  sometimes  needed. 

99 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

The  Misses  Clark  were  English 
ladies  and  taught  but  one  or  two 
terms  when  the  district  school  was 
opened  just  across  the  street.  In 
that  school  Miss  Grace  Bibb  and 
Miss  Wood  were  employed  to 
teach;  young  children  and  the 
Misses  Clark  brought  their  school 
to  a  close. 


THE  COLORED  SCHOOL. 

There  was  a  school  for  colored 
children  taught  by  Miss  Rebecca 
Elliott,  who  came  here  from  Cin- 
cinnati as  their  teacher  about 
1860. 

Schools  for  colored  children 
were  a  rather  scarce  article  in  Peo- 
ria  before  the  war.  The  city  con- 
tributed $15.00  per  quarter  of  the 
teacher's  pay  and  the  parents  of 
the  children  paid  the  remainder. 

The  school  was  opened  in  a 
small  frame  building,  which  stood 
100 


f 

•     D 

il 

==  a 

V.  K 
$  O 

So 

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-p 

w 
o 

en 

H 


TEACHERS  OF    J'lARI/VT  PEORIA. 

at  the  head  of  Chestnut  street,  No. 
209.  The  building  was  built  by  the 
Turners  and  was  the  first  Turner 
Hall  in  Peoria.  It  then  stood  on 
Washington  street.  About  1858 
or  1859  it  was  sold;  the  colored 
people  bought  it  and  moved  it  to 
Chestnut  street  and  used  it  for 
some  years  as  a  church  and  school 
house.  The  building  is  yet  stand- 
ing and  is  now  occupied  as  a  tene- 
ment house. 

Miss  Elliott  must  have  been  a 
good  teacher,  at  least  her  name 
may  be  found  among  the  teachers 
of  the  public  schools  in  1863.  I* 
was  a  separate  school  for  colored 
children,  —  white  children  were 
hardly  wise  enough  then  to  attend 
school  with  colored  children.  Miss 
Elliott  was  paid  by  the  public  $125 
for  twenty-five  weeks. 

The  next  school  for  colored 
children  stood  at  the  head  of 
Franklin  street  on  a  vacant  piece 

101 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

of  ground  claimed  by  the  city. 
That  school  house  was  built  during 
or  just  after  the  war.  The  school 
was  taught  by  Miss  Duffee,  who  is 
said  to  have  been  an  Irish  lady  and 
a  good  teacher.  Miss  Duffee  went 
to  Ireland  and  Miss  Houghtailing 
taught  for  some  time. 

The  colored  children  are  now 
admitted  to  the  public  schools  the 
same  as  white  children. 


GIRLS'  STOCK  SCHOOL 

The  Female  School  Association, 
better  known  as  the  Girl's  Stock 
School  was  opened  in  1850  and 
proved  to  be  reasonably  successful 
and  became  a  paying  investment. 
They  leased  the  lot  on  Jeffer- 
son Avenue  on  which  it  stood 
from  Charles  Ballance,  —  be- 
fore the  lease  expired  the  house 
was  burned.  The  Association  af- 
terwards bought  a  lot  at  the  corner 
102 


TEACHRRS   OF   EARI.Y   PEORIA. 

of  Adams  and  Jackson  streets,  and 
put  up  a  fine  brick  building.  This 
school  also  prospered  there  until  it 
was  taken  by  the  School  Inspec- 
tors, who  for  some  time  made  use 
of  it  as  the  High  school  under 
their  system.  It  afterwards  be- 
came the  Irving  school  and 
was  so  used  some  years.  It  is 
now  occupied  by  the  Teacher's  As- 
sociation as  a  club  room. 


BOYS'  STOCK  SCHOOL 

The  Boy's  Stock  School  was  or- 
ganized in  March  1854  in  pursuance 
to  several  public  meetings  held  in 
1853  and  1854.  A  meeting  of  the 
shareholders  was  held  at  Hascall's 
Hall  in  February  1854,  where  the 
plan  was  outlined,  and  on  the  23rd 
of  March  the  shareholders  met 
and  elected  Hon.  Onslow  Peters, 
President  and  A.  P.  Bartlett,  Sec- 
retary and  H.  G.  Anderson,  treas- 

103 


THE   SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

urer.  They  purchased  lots  10,  11 
and  12,  Block  47  in  Monson  &  San- 
ford's  Addition  and  a  building  was 
erected  and  furnished  at  a  cost  of 


$8000,  ready  for  occupancy  Nov. 
27,  1854,  the  school  was  opened, 
Chas.  E.  Hovey  was  selected  as 
principal;  Mrs.  Hovey,  C.  H.  Doty, 
Elizabeth  Smith  and  Sophia  La- 
lanne  assisting.  Dr.  Niglas  in- 
structed in  German  and  J.  M.  Hig- 


104 


TEACHERS  OF  BARI.Y  PEGRIA. 

gins  in  music.  One  hundred  and 
nineteen  students  entered  the 
school. 

The  New  Testament,  the  Bible, 
Webster's  Dictionary  and  Julius 
Caesar  are  the  only  books  in  a 
long  list  of  studies,  which  are  rec- 
ognized now.  This  school  was 
chartered  by  the  Legislature  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1855,  under  the  name  of 
Peoria  Academy  and  April  6,  1856, 
was  purchased  by  the  School  In- 
spectors of  Peoria  and  the  school 
became  incorporated  in  the  gener- 
al school  system  of  Peoria.  (See 
Appendix.) 


THE  GERMAN  SCHOOLS. 

So  far  as  known  the  following 
is  all  of  the  German  schools  in 
early  Peoria:  About  the  year  1849 
a  school  was  opened  by  Rev.  Mi- 
chael Ruppelius,  formerly  a  Luth- 
eran minister,  then  a  Notary  Pub- 

105 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

lie  and  Justice  of  the  Peace.  It 
was  located  on  Adams  street,  be- 
tween Main  and  Fulton.  It  con- 
tinued until  1857,  employing  two 
teachers,  one  of  them  being  the 
late  Mr.  Chr.  Zimmermann. 

Soon  after  another  was  opened 
by  Mr.  J.  G.  Schultz  on  the  corner 
of  Washington  and  Harrison  Sts. 
After  running  it  with  fair  success 
for  a  few  years  Mr.  Schultz  obtain- 
ed a  position  in  the  Recorder's  of- 
fice and  dismissed  his  pupils. 

About  the  same  time  a  third 
was  conducted  under  Catholic  au- 
spices by  Mr.  Franz  Stubenrauch 
on  South  Washington  Street,  be- 
tween Walnut  and  Bridge,  whence 
it  was  moved  about  the  year  1850 
to  No.  311  South  Washington 
street,  and  kept  up  until  i859,when 
it  was  closed.  Joseph  Brodman, 
John  Henseler,  Chris.  Yerger  and 
Frank  J.  Miller  were  among  his 
pupils.  He  married  Susanna  Streitz 

106 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI/V  PEORIA. 

in  March,  1859,  and  died  1873. 
widow  and  family  live  at  No.  411 
First  avenue. 

A  fourth  school,  opened  by  a 
a  Mr.  Nachtigal,  on  North  Adams 
street,  corner  Morgan  and  Adams, 
had  a  precarious  existence  from 
1856  to  1858  and  was  closed  in  the 
middle  of  the  schoolyear  for  want 
of  scholars. 

A  fifth  was  operated  by  a  Mrs, 
Stein  on  Walnut  street  and  man- 
aged to  hold  out  until  1859  or  1860- 
There  may  have  been  others  in  the 
decade  ending  with  the  year  1860, 
but  of  these  there  is  no  informa- 
tion available,  except  that  in  1859, 
when  all  or  nearly  all  those  men- 
tioned had  been  given  up,  another 
effort  was  made  by  a  Mr.  Stieboldt, 
a  linguist  and  gentleman  of  supe- 
rior education,  who  opened  a 
school  on  Washington  street.  This 
school  was  afterwards  assumed  by 

107 


THK  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 
the  late  Mr.  August  Kampmeier, 
and  by  him  transferred  in  the  fall 
of  1871  to  Mr.  Schultz,  named  ear- 
lier in  this  article.  It  was  held  in 
the  court  house.  Mr.  Schultz  soon 
tired  of  his  second  venture  and 
early  in  1862  turned  over  to  the 
newly  formed  German  School  So- 
ciety, all  the  belongings  of  his 
school,  together  with  perhaps  69  or 
70  pupils,  himself  remaining  as  one 
of  the  teachers. 

Many  Germans  had  settled  in 
the  lower  portion  of  the  city,  in 
what  was  familiarly  known  as  the 
"Krim",  and  to  accommodate  these 
a  Mr.  Gehrig  in  1860  opened  a 
school  on  South  Washington  street, 
just  below  Edmund,  which  was 
fairly  well  patronized  and  contin- 
ued to  exist  until  1867  or  1868. 


108 


TEACHERS  OF  FARI.Y  PEORIA. 

GERMAN   FREE  SCHOOL. 

On  the  2ist  of  March  1862,  a 
meeting  of  Germans  was  held  at 
Bergan'sHall,509-5ii  South  Wash- 
ington Street,  to  consult  about  es- 
tablishing a  German  school.  Dr. 
Brendel  was  called  to  the  chair  and 
H.  Baier  chosen  Secretary.  After 
full  consultation  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  report  a  plan.  The 
committee  reported  in  favor  of  es- 
tablishing a  German  School  and 
$600  was  at  once  subscribed  by 
those  present  and  a  committee  to 
solicit  funds  was  appointed. 

On  the  nth  of  April  the  school 
was  organized,  13  directors  were 
chosen  and  Carl  Feinse  was  elected 
president.  Bergan's  Hall  on  South 
Washington  street  was  rented  and 
Chris.  Zimmermann  and  J.  G. 
Schultz  were  engaged  as  teachers. 

May  3rd  the  school  was  opened 

109 


THE   SCHOOLS   AND   THE 

with  103  scholars.  April  8th,  1863 
the  lot  at  noSecond  avenue,  where 
the  school  now  stands,  was  pur- 
chased for  $1200  and  the  building 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $4,698.14. 
It  was  dedicated  October  30,  1863. 
The  president,  Carl  Feinse,  made 
an  English  oration  and  Dr.  Studer 
spoke  in  German.  April  29,  1864, 
the  number  of  pupils  had  increased 
to  275  and  two  more  teachers  were 
employed.  The  school  is  main- 
tained from  voluntary  subscription 
and  a  small  charge  to  the  pupils. 
The  school  was  incorporated  in 
1864,  and  has  now  ample  funds  on 
hand  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
school.  It  is  emphatically  a  Ger- 
man-English school.  They  teach 
the  same  branches  from  the  same 
books  used  in  the  English  Gram- 
mar school.  During  a  portion  of 
each  day  the  studies  are  conducted 
in  German.  April  4,  1890,  a  Kin- 


no 


TEACHEKS   OF   EARI<Y    PEOKIA 

dergarten  was  added  with  Miss 
Jennie  Dammann  as  teacher.  The 
officials  at  the  present  time  are  Dr. 
O.  J.  Roskoten,  president,  Fred. 
Kleene,  secretary,  John  Schlatter, 
treasurer.  The  teachers'  names 
are  Robt.  Eckstein,  D.  H.  Poppen, 
Emily  Wetzlau  and  Mrs.  Frahm. 

The  founders  of  this  school  were 
many  of  them  exiles  from  their  na- 
tive land  on  account  of  the  Revo- 
lution of  1848,  most  of  them  came 
here  very  poor.  After  a  shelter 
for  their  families  they  built  a  school 
to  educate  their  children.  That 
school,  a  monument  of  German 
industry,  pluck  and  patience  is  still 
standing  at  no  Second  avenue, 
and  the  school  is  still  in  active  op- 
eration. 

The  forty  years,  which  have 
elapsed  since  the  German  school 
School  was  started,  has  made  many 

changes.      Emigration  has  dimin- 
111 


THK   SCHOOLS   AND   THE 

ished.  The  Germans  have  to  a 
large  extent  become  Americans. 
The  public  schools  are  much  better 
and  are  more  convenient  than  at 
first,  and  of  course  the  attendance 
at  the  German  school  has  fallen 
off.  It  is  not  impossible  the  Ger- 
mans may  in  the  near  future  con- 
clude to  transfer  the  school  to  the 
American  school  board,  possibly  to 
be  maintained  as  an  exclusively 
German  school  of  the  higher 
grade. 

There  were  some  funny  mistakes 
that  arose  in  these  German  schools 
from  a  misunderstanding  of  lan- 
guage. One  German  teacher  on 
one  occasion  seeing  a  new  boy  in 
his  school,  said  to  him  "Komm  mal 
her!"  the  boy  thought  he  said 
"Comb  your  hair"  and  putting  his 
hand  to  his  head,  said  my  hair  is 
combed.  The  teacher  at  once 
reached  for  his  gad  and  started  for 


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E 


TEACHERS  OF  KARI,Y  PEORIA. 

the  boy,  to  administer  a  sound 
thrashing,  when  one  of  the  Ger- 
man boys  called  to  him:  Er  ist  ein 
englischerBub,  er  kann  kein  Deutsch. 
(He  is  an  English  boy,  he  cannot 
speak  German.)  The  teacher  sur- 
veyed the  boy  with  astonishment 
and  said  "Soh"— 


THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOLS. 

The  Parochial  Schools,  or  Parish 
Schools  are  controlled  by  the  Par- 
ish authorities,  which  in  this  coun- 
try in  all  cases  are  the  church  au- 
thorities. A  church  is  organized 
within  a  district,  which  is  called  a 
parish,  the  school  is  a  part  of  the 
church  in  effect  or  belongs  to  the 
church.  There  are  in  Peoria  13  of 
these  Parochial  schools,  of  which 
seven  are  Catholic  and  six  are  Lu-< 
theran.  Among  these  early  Paro- 
chial schools,  St.  Paul's  Evangel- 

113 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND   THE 

ical  Lutheran  School  at  the  corner 
of  Prairie  and  Goodwin  streets,  is 
perhaps  the  first.  It  was  organized 
in  1854.  The  Rev.H.  Kopman  was 
the  first  teacher.  The  school  was 
supported  largely  by  the  church, 
but  the  patrons  are  usually  charged 
50  to  75  cents  a  month  for  each 
scholar  up  to  two,  the  remainder  of 
the  family  all  being  included  in 
this  charge.  They  teach  ordinary 
English  branches,  a  part  of  each 
day  being  devoted  to  teaching 
German,  while  for  the  remainder 
of  the  day  the  teaching  is  in  Eng- 
lish. The  schools  sometimes  have 
a  Kindergarten  for  young  children 
as  a  part  of  the  school.  Wolfgang 
Semmelmann  is  the  present  teach- 
er of  this  school,  while  his  wife  is 
teacher  of  the  Kindergarten.  The 
school  now  numbers  106  pupils. 
Their  first  school  house  was  rather 
a  small  affair.  The  second  adjoin- 

114 


PRESENT  BUILDING  ST.  PAUL'S  GERMAN 

LUTHERAN  SCHOOL 
Goodwin  St ,  cor.  Prairie.    Built  1898. 


TKACHKRS  OF   QARI<Y   POERIA. 

ing  it  is  a  much  larger  and  better 
building. 

In  1857,  a  Lutheran  school  was 
organized  at  No.  418  Warner  ave- 
nue. It  was  taught  by  Prof.  E. 
Miller.  It  is  called  the  German 
Lutheran  Trinity  School.  In  1888 
the  Rev.  E.  J.  Keimnitz  was  the 
teacher.  He  continues  to  be  the 
teacher  at  this  time  and  has  about 
80  scholars. 

In  1892  a  school  was  organized 
at  214  Malone  avenue,  called  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Christ's 
School.  Edward  Kremsieg  is  the 
teacher.  This  church  and  school 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1895,  but 
the  congregation  at  once  rebuilt  a 
new  school  house  and  church.  The 
school  now  has  56  pupils  in  attend- 
ance. The  pupils  pay  75  cents  per 
month,  up  to  two  members  of  a 
family,  the  other  members  are  free 

115 


THE  SCHOOI3  AND  THE 

and  the  remainder  of  the  expenses 
are  paid  by  the  church. 

Other  Lutheran  schools  in  this 
city  are  not  essentially  different 
from  those  already  given.  They 
all  teach  the  ordinary  English 
branches,  and  I  believe  all  devote 
a  portion  of  their  teaching  to  Ger- 
man, or  in  the  German  language, 
and  a  portion  in  English.  The  chil- 
dren, however,  all  get  English 
enough  in  their  contact  with  other 
children  on  the  street. 

There  is  a  German  Reformed 
Church  on  the  corner  of  Reed  and 
Persimmon  street,  which  is  differ- 
ent in  faith  from  the  Lutheran,  but 
not  essentially  different  in  their 
manner  of  teaching.  Their  school 
is  small,  not  having  over  30  schol- 
ars and  is  kept  only  in  the  summer 
months.  It  is  substantially  a  Ger- 
man Reformed  School,  which  in 
English  means  congregational. 

116 


I 

g 

w 

S 

.0 


TEACHERS  OF  BARI,Y  PEORIA. 

CATHOLIC  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOLS. 


ST.  JOSEPH'S  PARISH  SCHOOL. 

The  first  organized  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  St.  Joseph's  congrega- 
tion to  establish  a  school  was  made 
in  1858.  Four  members,  Messrs. 
John  Wichmann,  Andreas  Goebel, 
Philip  Rohmann  and  Henry  Lam- 
mers  donated  to  the  congregation 
a  lot  for  this  purpose,  situated  at 
the  corner  of  Spencer  street  and 
First  Avenue,  extending  50x150 
feet.  In  the  middle  of  this  lot  the 
congregation,  about  40  families  in 
all,  built  its  first  one  story  frame 
school  house,  16  feet  wide  by  24 
feet  long,  which  soon  received  an 
addition  of  the  same  dimensions 
along  Spencer  street  line,  so  that  it 
represented  a  lengthy  structure  of 
the  dimensions  16x48  feet. 

The  families  resided  within  two 
miles  of  the  school,  and  the  num- 

117 


'THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 
her  of  school-going  children  ranged 
from  60  to  70.  This  was  the  first 
Parochial  school  built  in  Peoria, 
for  children  of  Catholic  parents, 
at  a  time  when  its  inhabitants 
counted  less  than  one-sixth  of  their 
last  census. 

The  men  who  taught  St.  Joseph's 
school  from  1858-1869  were  educat- 
ors. Messrs.  Frank  Stubenrauch 
and  Peter  Elzer  deserve  this  dis- 
tinction. Messrs.  Herzog,  August 
Steiger,  Titner  and  Higi  were 
teachers. 

Ten  years  after  a  new  and  bet- 
ter school  house  was  erected  at 
the  corner  of  Spencer  street  and 
First  avenue,  on  the  site  now  occu- 
pied by  St.  Joseph's  church.  The 
school  building  in  question  consist- 
ed of  two  large  rooms,  24  feet  wide 
and  30  feet  long,  which  could  be 
thrown  into  one  hall  by  opening 

118- 


TEACHERS  OF  EARLY  PEORIA. 
the  folding  doors,  forming  a  parti- 
tion.       The     cost     amounted     to 
$2,600. 

A  third  school  house  was  built 
in  1869,  facing  Spencer  street,  es- 
pecially designed  to  furnish  class 
rooms  for  the  boys.  The  teachers 
engaged  on  their  behalf  were  Mr. 
George  B.  Meiler,  who  was  a  com- 
petent teacher,  but  no  educator. 
Then  followed  in  succession  Mr. 
Barth  and  Mr.  Bahl.  Then,  the 
principal  of  co-education  of  the 
sexes  was  imperceptibly  introduced 
and  finally  became  firmly  estab- 
lished in  1885. 

On  January  10,  1868,  the  School 
Sisters  de  Notre  Dame  took  charge. 
In  place  of  one  teacher  as  former- 
ly, the  school  now  had  four  Sisters. 
They  also  employed  one  male 
teacher  for  the  boys;  the  training 
of  the  children  became  from  that 

119 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

time  more  thorough  and  systemat- 
ic than  before. 

The  studies  were  graded.  In- 
dustrial Drawing,  Plain  and  Fancy 
Needle  Work  were  taught  in  each 
room.  Promotions  henceforth  took 
place  only  after  passing  satisfacto- 
ry examinations. 

Moral  training  forms  an  essen- 
tial element  in  education;  the  Sis- 
ters acted  the  part  of  parents  to- 
wards the  children  entrusted  to 
their  care,  and  spared  no  efforts  to 
secure  the  cultivation  of  the  heart 
as  well  as  the  mind.  Some  of  the 
readers  may  be  interested  to  know 
that  the  first  Superior  was  a  baron- 
ess von  Pronath  and  went  by  the 
cloister  name  of  Sister  Seraphina. 

The  superiors  in  charge  are  the 
following  in  order  of  their  succes- 
sion: Sr.  M.  Seraphina,  Sr.  M. 
Amanda,  Sr.  M.  Melania,  Sr.  M. 

120 


TKACHKRS  OF  BARI,Y  PEORIA 

Fulgentia,  Sr.  M.  Alphonsa,  Sr.  M. 
Kostka,  Sister  M.  Anna  Garcia,  Sr. 
M.  Antonia  is  the  present  Superior. 

All  discharged  their  duties  with 
credit  to  themselves  and  their  in- 
stitute. The  number  of  children 
had  increased  until  at  the  close  of 
i86g  there  were  285  pupils  and  400 
at  the  beginning  of  1872. 

About  that  time  an  agreement 
between  the  rectors  of  St.  Joseph's 
and  St.  Patrick's  Schools  separated 
the  children  of  Irish  parentage 
from  those  of  German.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  agreement  the  num- 
ber of  pupils  in  the  school  gradu- 
ally diminished  from  400  to  264 
during  the  school  year  1872. 

In  1885  the  pupils  numbered 
270.  At  present  355  are  enrolled. 
From  1858-1868  the  attendance  had 
grown  from  about  60  to  90  pupils. 
In  less  than  half  that  space  of  time* 

121 


TtlK  SCHOOIJ8  ANt)  THE 

namely  from  1868  to  1872  the  num- 
ber of  German-American  pupils 
alone  had  nearly  trebled,  and  the 
teaching  staff  had  to  be  increased 
from  time  to  time,  so  that  now  sev- 
en teachers  are  actively  engaged 
in  school  work. 

This  result  was  due  to  the  slow, 
but  steady  growth  of  the  city,  dur- 
ing the  15  years  since  the  opening 
of  the  school  and  the  consequent 
growth  of  the  congregation. 

In  1877,  in  order  to  make  room 
for  the  present  St.Joseph's  Church, 
the  two  school  houses  were  remov- 
ed to  the  north-east  corner  of  Spen- 
cer and  Hurlburt  streets.  In  1885 
both  were  furnished  with  new 
benches. 

St.  Joseph's  School  has  had  a 
useful  existence  of  more  than  forty 
years.  It  took  its  beginning  when 
the  city  was  as  yet  an  insignificant 

122 


TEACHERS  OF  SARI,Y  PEORIA. 

town.  In  1885  the  old  school  hou- 
ses were  sold  and  in  May  of  the 
same  year  the  foundation  of  the 
new  school  house  was  layed  at  the 
corner  of  Prairie  avenue  and  Spen- 
cer street. 

This  new  school  house  is  a  large 
brick  building  60  feet  by  95  feet* 
It  cost  $24,000.  The  basement  and 
first  floor  contain  each  four  large 
rooms,  and  the  second  story  two 
large  rooms  and  a  hall.  As  regards 
fixtures,  space,  natural  and  arti- 
ficial lighting,  ventilation,  heating 
apparatus  and  sanitary  arrange* 
ment,  nothing  was  left  to  be  de- 
sired. The  school  was  formally 
opened  by  the  Rt.Rev.BishopSpal- 
ding,  October  22nd,  1889. 

In  September,  1893,  **  was 
changed  into  a  free  school,  the  par- 
ish paying  all  the  expenses. 

The  year  following  also  a  Kin- 
dergarten was  opened,  which  up  to 

1*23 


THE  SCHOOfc*   AND  THE 

the  present  has  been  well  attended 
and  is  continuing  to  gain  great 
favor. 

Teaching  both  German  and 
English,  with  a  leaning  toward  the 
latter,  the  school  is  keeping  step  as 
a  whole  in  connection  with  the 
steady  progress  of  the  city.  It 
suffices  to  point  to  three  prizes, 
which  the  St.  Joseph's  School  won 
at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion at  Chicago  in  1893. 

The  history  of  this  school  shows 
a  steady  improvement  all  along  the 
line.  Ever  bettering  her  discipline 
and  improving  her  methods  she 
has  been  able  to  send  forth  several 
thousand  boys  and  girls,  well  equip- 
ped to  become  citizens  and  mem- 
bers of  the  larger  Peorian  commu- 
nity. 


124 


At 


TEACHKRS  OF  KARLY  PKORIA. 

ST.  PATRICK'S  SCHOOL 

St.  Patrick's  School  on  Sarato- 
ga, near  Johnson  street,  was  orig- 
inally a  small  frame  building  on 
the  site  of  the  present  brick. 

The  school  was  opened  Septem- 
ber, 1869,  with  about  150  pupils. 
Miss  Mary  Ryan,  now  Mrs.  John 
Madigan,  Miss  Mary  Nailon,  now 
secretary  and  part  owner  of  the 
Nailon  Bros.  Co.  Steam  Fitters  and 
Plumbers,  were  the  teachers  of  the 
first  school;  a  year  later  Miss  Ellen 
Donlin  and  Miss  Beust  were  em- 
ployed as  additional  teachers. 

About  1873  the  school  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  School  Sisters  of 
Notre  Dame,  who  have  been  in 
charge  of  the  school  for  the  last 
twenty-eight  years.  Under  their 
hands  it  has  increased  largely. 
Some  eight  or  ten  years  ago  the 
old  frame  school  house  was  sold 

125 


THE   SCHOOLS   AND  THR 

and  moved  away  and  a  large  fine 
brick  structure  was  erected  on  the 
same  site.  The  new  school  house 
contains  about  ten  rooms,  each 
having  all  the  improvements  of  the 
most  modern  school. 

Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  still  have 
charge  and  the  pupils  number 
about  300.  John  and  James  Nai- 
lon,  Thomas  N.  Gorman,  Frank  J. 
Quinn  and  John  Brady  went  to 
school  there  as  their  first  school. 


ST.  BONIFACE  SCHOOL 

St.  Boniface  School  was  opened 
about  1884  on  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent school,  on  Louisa,  near  the 
corner  of  Antoinette  street.  It  is 
under  the  charge  of  the  Francis- 
can Sisters,  who  have  their  mother 
house  at  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin. 
They  are  said  to  be  excellent 
teachers  and  their  school  now  num- 

126 


g 

H 


Q 

H 
03 

3 


BE,    «« 
O    » 

S 


X 

Bl 


TEACHERS  OF  EARLY  PEORIA. 

bers  200  pupils.  The  school  is 
maintained  by*  a  charge  of  fifty 
cents  per  month  to  each  pupil. 


ACADEMY  OF  OUR  LADY  OF  THE 
SACRED  HEART. 

The  Academy  of  Our  Lady  of 
the  Sacred  Heart  was  founded  in 
1862  by  Father  Abraham  Ryan, 
and  was  opened  in  April,  1863. 
Mathew  Henebery,  Patrick  Har- 
mon, N.  Bergan,  Patrick  Dunne' 
Charles  Burt,  John  Boyle  and 
others  were  induced  to  subscribe 
to  the  expense  and  the  teachers 
from  the  Sisters  of  St.  Joseph  were 
selected  to  teach.  Their  first  house 
was  on  Jefferson  street,  between 
Eaton  and  Hancock,  where  the 
school  was  opened  with  about  100 
pupils.  They  next  moved  to  the 
corner  of  Jefferson  and  Fayette 
street,  and  later  sold  that  lot  to  C. 

127 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

P.  King  and  bought  at  the  corner 
of  Eaton  and  Madison  streets, 
where  the  school  is  now  located. 
Mother  Teresa  was  the  first  Lady 
Superior  or  mother.  She  was  fol- 
lowed by  Mothers  George,  Assinsi, 
Agnes,  Theodosia,  Mathilda,  Lu- 
crecia,  Estella,  Teresa,  and  Mother 
Alexander,  who  now  presides. 
Their  services  were  all  short,  three 
or  six  years,  except  Mother  Ma- 
thilda, who  had  control  eighteen 
years. 

Their  Academy  is  now  a  large 
fine  building,  containing  several 
school  rooms  for  pupils  in  different 
grades,  with  a  number  of  music 
rooms,  painting  and  drawing  rooms, 
chapel,  etc.,  with  accommodations 
for  some  hundred  boarders.  The 
building  is  an  ornament  to  the  city. 

The  institution  admits  pupils  to 
both  a  boarding  and  day  school. 

128 


TEACHERS  OF   EARI,Y  PEORIA. 

Pupils  of  all  denominations  are  ad- 
mitted, and  except  the  religious 
instruction  to  the  children  of  Cath- 
olics, all  are  treated  alike.  They 
have  now  about  three  hundred  pu- 
pils and  seven  expert  teachers. 

The  course  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  branches  of  an  English 
Grammar  school,  embraces  Rheto- 
ric, Natural  Philosophy,  Civil  Gov- 
ernment, Literature,  Geology,  Zo- 
ology, Mythology,  Botany,  Astron- 
omy, Mental  Philosophy,  Chemist- 
ry and  Criticism. 

They  also  have  classes  in  French, 
German  and  Spanish,  Music  and  a 
systematic  course  of  Art  study. 

In  the  rear  of  this  school  and 
convent  is  a  pile  of  stone  five  or 
six  feet  high  and  eight  or  ten  feet 
across  at  its  base.  No  one  now 
living  knows  when  it  was  first 
planted,  nor  the  purpose,  for  which 

129 


THE  SCHOOLS   AND  THE 

placed  there,  but  the  good  Sisters 
of  the  Convent  all  devoutly  believe 
it  marks  the  spot,  where  the  priests 
who  came  with  La  Salle  planted 
the  first  cross  In  the  great  wilder- 
ness of  new  France.  They  point 
to  legends,  which  they  say,  justify 
this  belief,  and  when  the  ground 
was  first  purchased,  it  was  with  a 
view  to  possessing  the  spot  of 
ground  to  which  the  legend  at- 
tached. 

The  Parochial  school  near  the 
corner  of  Eaton  and  Jefferson  ave- 
nue, adjoining  the  Academy  of  our 
Lady  of  the  Sacred  Heart  was  first 
opened  by  a  lay  teacher  before  the 
Sisters  took  charge  of  it.  The 
Sisters  of  St.  Joseph,  however,  took 
charge  of  it  the  same  time  they 
opened  the  Academy.  The  school 
is  simply  an  ordinary  grammar 
school,  for  the  purpose  of  fitting 
young  ladies,  who  may  desire  for 

130 


TEACHERS   OF   EARI,Y   PEORIA. 

entering  the  Academy,  and  for  fit- 
ting boys  for  the  High  school  or 
for  the  Spalding  Institute.  This  pa- 
rochial school  now  has  from  one 
hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
scholars,  and  is  taught  by  four  of 
the  Sisters.  It  is  managed  with  the 
usual  skill  of  these  excellent  teach- 
ers. 


This  substantially  brings  the 
history  of  the  private  schools  in 
Peoria  down  to  the  year  1855- 
February  15,  1855,  the  school  in- 
spectors took  charge  and  the 
schools  became  public  schools, 
the  records  of  which  have  been 
preserved. 

When  the  inspectors  assumed 
control,  there  was  no  school  house  in 
the  First  Ward,  although  the  foun- 
dation had  been  laid  for  a  building 
at  the  corner  of  Adams  and  Wal- 
nut streets.  In  the  Second  Ward 

131 


THE  SCHOOLS  AND  THE 

there  was  a  small  school  house,  in- 
convenient and  uncomfortable.  In 
the  Third  Ward  there  was  an  old 
foundry,  which  had  been  fitted  up 
as  a  school  room  and  would  ac- 
commodate 80  or  go  pupils.  It  was 
hot  in  summer  and  freezing  in 
winter.  In  the  Fourth  Ward  was 
a  better  school  house,  which  is 
now  standing  at  No.  322  N.  Wash- 
ington Street.  In  this  school  house 
there  were  seats  for  about  80  or  90 
pupils.  There  were  then  in  the 
city  approximately  230  children 
attending  school.  There  were  ap- 
proximately 1000  of  proper  age, 
who  should  have  been  attending 
school. 

From  May  to  October,  1855,  the 
Board  had  been  able  to  get  togeth- 
er $2414.85,  the  sum  total  of  the 
school  money  of  that  year.  During 
the  next  year  they  had  been  able 
to  collect  $11,089.46.  During  the 

132 


TEACHERS  OF  EARI,Y   PEORIA. 

year  ending  May  1900,  the  inspect- 
ors expended  $63, 503.00  for  new 
school  buildings.  They  have  in 
all  parts  of  the  city  18  large  well 
furnished  school  houses,  averaging 
ten  or  more  rooms  each.  The  total 
cost  of  these  was  $750,000.00.  The 
total  disbursements  of  the  Board 
for  the  year  was  $246,168.00,  of 
which  $135,106.96  was  for  salaries 
paid  teachers.  During  that  year 
they  employed  and  paid  218  teach- 
ers. They  had  in  round  numbers 
8000  pupils  to  educate. 

When  President  McKinley  came 
here  in  the  fall  of  1899,  there  were 
approximately  5000 children  march- 
ing in  procession  to  welcome  him 
to  Peoria.  This  did  not  include 
the  scholars  of  the  High  school, 
nor  did  it  include  any  of  the  small 
pupils  of  the  primaries. 

There  has    sometimes   been    a 

133 


THE   SCHOOLS   AND   THE 

snarl  at  the  school  taxes.  This 
exhibit  shows  the  cost  of  schooling 
a  child  approximately  $20.00  a  year 
for  each  pupil.  The  cost  in  a  pri- 
vate school  would  be  over  $50.00  a 
year,  and  the  schooling  would  be 
much  inferior.  The  school  tax  in 
cities  of  the  size  of  Peoria  is  gen- 
erally higher  than  in  this  city. 


K54 


APPENDIX. 

An  Act  providing  for  the  Establishment  of 
Free  Schools.  Approved  and  in  force 
January  75,  1825. 

PREAMBLE — To  enjoy  our  rights  and  liber- 
ties we  must  understand  them;  their  security 
and  protection  ought  to  be  the  first  object  of 
a  free  people  and  it  is  a  well  established  fact 
that  no  nation  has  ever  continued  long  in 
the  enjoyment  of  civil  and  political  freedom, 
which  was  not  both  virtuous  and  enlighten- 
ed; and  believing  that  the  advancement  of 
literature  has  always  been  and  ever  will  be 
the  means  of  developing  more  fully  the  rights 
of  man;  that  the  mind  of  every  citizen  in  a 
republic  is  the  common  property  of  society, 
and  constitutes  the  basis  of  its  strength  and 
happiness.  It  is  therefor  considered  the  pe- 
culiar duty  of  a  free  government  like  ours  to 
encourage  and  extend  the  improvement  and 
cultivation  of  the  intellectual  energies  of  the 
whole.  Therefor, 


APPENDIX 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  People  of  the  State  of 
Illinois  represented  in  the  General  Assembly: 

SEC.  1.  That  there  shall  be  established 
a  common  school  or  schools  in  each  of  the 
counties  of  this  state,  which  shall  be  open 
and  free  to  every  class  of  white  citizens  be- 
tween the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one  years. 
Provided,  that  persons  over  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one years  may  be  admitted  into  such 
schools  on  such  terms  as  the  trustees  of  the 
school  district  may  prescribe. 

SEC.  2.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the 
County  Commissions  Courts  shall  from  time 
to  time  form  school  districts  in  their  respect- 
ive counties,  whenever  a  petition  may  be 
presented  for  that  purpose  by  a  majority  of 
the  qualified  voters  resident  within  such  con- 
templated district. 

SEC.  3.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  legal 
voters  in  each  district  to  be  established  as 
aforesaid,  may  have  a  meeting  at  any  time 
thereafter  by  giving  ten  days  previous  no- 
tice of  the  time  and  place  of  holding  the 
same;  at  which  meeting  they  may  proceed 
by  ballot  to  elect  three  trustees,  one  clerk, 
one  treasurer,  one  assessor  and  one  collector, 
who  shall  respectively  take  an  oath  of  office 
faithfully  to  discharge  their  respective  du- 
ties. 

SEC.  4.    Be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall 

be  the  duty  of  the  trustees  to  superintend 

the  schools  within  their  respective  districts; 

to  examine  and  employ  teachers;  to  lease  all 

ii 


APPENDIX 

lands  belonging  to  the  district;  to  call  meet- 
ings of  the  voters  whenever  they  shall  deem 
it  expedient;  or  at  any  time  when  requested 
so  to  do  by  five  legal  voters,  by  giving  to 
each  one  at  least  five  days  notice  of  the  time 
and  place  of  holding  the  same;  appointing 
one  or  more  persons  living  within  the  district 
to  serve  the  necessary  notice;  to  make  an 
annual  report  to  the  County  Commissioner's 
Court  of  the  proper-  county  of  the  number 
of  children  living  within  the  bounds  of  such 
district  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty- 
one  years,  and  what  number  of  them  are  ac- 
tually sent  to  school  with  a  certificate  of  the 
time  a  school  is  actually  kept  up  in  the  dis- 
trict with  the  probable  expense  of  the  same. 

SEC.  5.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  each 
and  every  school  district,  when  established 
and  organized  as  aforesaid,  shall  be,  and 
they  are  hereby  constituted  a  body  politic 
and  corporate  so  far  as  to  commence  and 
maintain  actions  on  any  agreement  made 
with  any  person  or  persons  for  the  non-per- 
formance thereof,  or  for  any  damage  done  to 
their  schoolhouse  or  to  any  property,  which 
ma}-  belong  to  or  be  in  possession  of  such 
school,  and  be  liable  to  an  action  brought 
and  maintained  against  them  for  the  non- 
performance  of  any  contract  by  them  made. 

SEC.  6.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  trustees  to  prosecute  and 
defend  all  such  suits  in  the  name  of  the 
trustees  for  the  use  of  the  school  district; 

iii 


APPENDIX 

giving-  it  its  proper  name;  and  that  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  said  trustees  in  the  name  and 
for  the  use  of  said  district  to  purchase,  or 
receive  as  a  donation  and  hold  in  fee  simple 
any  property,  real  or  personal,  for  the  use  of 
the  said  school  district  and  they  may  defend 
or  prosecute  to  any  suit  or  suits  relative  to 
the  same;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  trust- 
ees to  give  order  on  the  treasurer  of  said  dis- 
trict for  all  sums  expended  in  paying  teach- 
ers and  all  other  expenses  necessarily  in- 
curred in  establishing,  carrying  on  and  sup- 
porting all  schools  within  their  respective 
districts,  and  at  the  regular  annual  meeting 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  the  said 
trustees  shall,  together  with  the  other  offi- 
cers, settle  all  accounts,  which  shall  have 
accrued  during  the  year  for  which  they  are 
elected. 

SEC.  7.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  clerk  of  each  district  to 
keep  a  book  in  which  he  shall  make  true  en- 
tries of  the  votes  and  proceedings  of  each 
meeting  of  the  voters  of  the  district  and  of 
the  trustees,  which  shall  be  held  according 
to  law  and  to  give  attested  copies  thereof, 
which  shall  be  legal  evidence  in  all  courts  of 
this  state. 

SEC.  8.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  treasurer  of  each  school 
district  to  receive  all  money  belonging  to  the 
same  and  pay  them  over  for  the  use  of  the 
school  to  the  order  of  a  majority  of  all  the 
lv 


APPENDIX 

legal  voters  by  a  vote  in  general  meeting  or 
the  order  of  the  trustees,  requiring  at  all 
times  written  vouchers  for  such  payments, 
stating  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  made. 

SEC.  9.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  collector  of  each  school 
district  to  collect  all  the  money  belonging  to 
or  due  to  the  same  when  directed  so  to  do, 
and  to  collect  such  taxes  as  by  vote  of  the 
district  shall  be  levied  and  to  pay  over  all 
moneys  when  collected  to  the  treasurer  of 
said  district  within  twenty  days  of  such  col- 
lection, except  five  per  cent,  which  he  shall 
retain  for  his  services,  taking  his  receipt  for 
the  same. 

SEC.  10.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  assessor  of  each  school 
district  to  assess  all  such  property  lying 
within  and  belonging  to  the  inhabitants  of 
said  district  as  he  may  be  directed  to  assess 
by  a  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  such 
district  and  to  make  return  of  the  same  with- 
in thirty  days  after  such  assessment  to  the 
trustees  of  said  district. 

SEC.  11.  Be  it  further  enacted^  That  when 
any  legal  voter  living  within  any  school  dis- 
trict shall  be  duly  elected  or  appointed  ac- 
cording to  the  second  section  of  this  act, 
trustee,  clerk,  treasurer,  collector,  assessor 
or  to  serve  notice,  and  refuse  or  neglect  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  the  same  he  shall,  if 
a  trustee  be  fined  in  the  sum  of  ten  dollars, 


APPENDIX 

if  a  clerk  in  sum  of  eight  dollars;  if  a  treasu- 
rer in  the  sum  of  five  dollars;  if  an  assessor 
in  the  sum  of  five  dollars;  and  if  a  person 
appointed  to  serve  a  notice  of  any  meeting 
the  sum  of  five  dollars;  and  for  a  neglect  to 
settle  all  of  their  respective  accounts  at  the 
end  of  the  year  for  which  they  were  elected 
the  trustees,  clerk,  collector  and  treasurer 
shall  be  fined  in  the  sum  of  twenty  dollars, 
which  together  with  all  other  fines  imposed 
in  this  act  shall  be  collected  by  suit  before 
any  justice  of  the  peace  within  the  proper 
county,  and  when  collection  shall  be  paid 
over  to  the  treasurer  of  the  district  for  the 
use  of  the  school  or  schools  within  the  same. 

SEC.  12.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the 
legal  voters  within  any  school  district  law- 
fully assembled  shall  have  the  following 
power,  to -wit.  To  appoint  a  time  and  place 
for  holding  annual  meetings,  to  select  a  place 
within  the  district  to  build  a  school  house  to 
levy  a  tax  either  in  cash  or  good  merchanta- 
ble produce  at  cash  price  upon  the  inhabi- 
tants of  their  respective  districts,  not  exceed- 
ing one  half  per  centum,  nor  amounting  to 
more  than  ten  dollars  per  annum  on  any  one 
person,  to  do  all  and  everything  necessary 
to  the  establishment  and  support  of  schools 
within  the  same. 

SEC.  13.     Be  it  further  enacted,  That  one  of 

the  trustees  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of 

the  voters,  who  shall  put  all  questions  upon 

which  a  vote  is  to  be  taken  and  when  the 

vi 


APPENDIX 

vote  is  taken  upon  levying-  a  tax  upon  the 
district,  each  of  the  voters  present  may  pro- 
pose a  sum  to  be  levied  and  the  vote  shall  be 
taken  upon  the  highest  sum  proposed  first, 
and  in  case  of  a  disagreement,  upon  the  next 
highest,  and  so  on  down  until  a  majority  of 
all  the  legal  voters  within  the  district  so 
taxed  shall  agree. 

SEC.  14.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  trustees,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  to  furnish  the  collector  with  the  fol- 
lowing warrant  to  collect  such  taxes  as  may 
be  so  levied,  which  warrant  shall  be  his  au- 
thority for  collecting  the  same  to  wit: 

STATE  OF  IUJNOIS,  \ 
County     f  bv 

To  A.  B.  Collector  of  the School  District 

in  the  County  afofesaid,  Greeting: 
In  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  you  are  hereby  required  and  com- 
manded to  collect  from  each  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  said  school  district  the  several 
sums  of  money  or  produce  as  the  case  may 
be,  written  opposite  their  name  in  the  an- 
nexed  tax  list  and  within  sixty  days  after 
receiving  the  warrant  to  pay  amount  of 
money  by  you  collected  into  the  hands  of  the 
treasurer  of  the  aforesaid  district  and  take 
his  receipt  for  the  same,  and  if  any  one  or 
more  of  the  said  inhabitants  shall  neglect  or 
refuse  to  pay  the  same  you  are  hereby  fur- 
ther commanded  to  levy  on  the  persona* 
goods  and  chattels  of  each  delinquent  and 
vii 


APPENDIX 

make  sale  thereof  according  to  the  law  reg- 
ulating the  collection  of  taxes  within  this 
state. 

Given  under  our  hand  this day  of 

A.  D.,  18 — 
The  annexed  tax  list: 

G  H $1.50      )      A.  B. 

I.  J 5.00     }.     C.  D.     Trustees. 

K.  L 3.00     )      E.  F. 

SEC.  19.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  au- 
ditors and  secretary  of  state  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  governor  are  hereby  declared 
and  constituted  commissioners  of  the  school 
fund;  and  the  said  fund  now  on  deposit  in 
the  State  Bank,  together  with  all  such  money 
as  shall  be  and  accrue  to  this  state  for  the 
use  of  schools  and  a  seminary  of  learning  by 
virtue  of  any  act  of  congress,  shall  be  and 
the  same  is  hereby  vested  in  said  commis- 
sioners, to  be  by  them  applied  in  such  man- 
ner for  the  use  of  schools  and  a  seminary  of 
learning  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law,  and 
the  said  commissioners  or  a  major  part  of 
them  are  hereby  authorized  to  receive  and 
give  acquittances  for  all  such  sums  of  money 
as  this  state  is  or  shall  be  entitled  to  receive 
from  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  20.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  cashier  of  the  state  bank 
to  pay  to  the  order  of  the  commissioners  or 
a  majority  of  them  the  amount  of  the  school 
fund  on  deposit  in  said  bank  and  the  said 
commissioners  shall  forthwith  proceed  to 
vlli 


APPENDIX 

buy  up  therewith  as  large  an  amount  of  the 
bank  notes  of  said  bank  as  the  same  will 
purchase  and  the  notes  so  purchased,  shall 
be  by  said  commissioners  deposited  in  said 
bank  and  the  cashier  shall  giv  e  to  said  com- 
missioners a  receipt  therefor  and  proceed 
to  burn  the  same  in  the  manner  and  at  the 
time  prescribed  for  burning-  the  ten  per  cent, 
paid  into  said  bank,  which  receipt  the  said 
commissioners  shall  present  to  the  auditor 
of  public  accounts,  who  shall  issue  a  certifi- 
cate for  the  amount  specified  in  said  receipt, 
payable  to  the  aforesaid  commissioners  of 
the  school  fund  in  the  legal  currency  of  the 
United  States,  which  certificate  shall  be  by 
said  commissioners  safely  kept  as  an  evi- 
dence of  the  claim  of  the  commissioners 
upon  the  treasury  of  the  state. 

SEC.  21.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  clerk  of  the  county  com- 
missioners court  of  the  several  counties  in 
this  state  to  make  an  abstract  of  the  report 
of  the  trustees  of  the  schools  established, 
stating  the  number  of  children  within  each 
district,  the  number  actually  sent  to  school, 
the  time  a  school  has  been  kept  in  operation 
in  each  district,  with  an  account  of  the  ex- 
pense of  the  same  and  forward  it  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  on  the  first  day  of  December 
in  each  and  every  year. 

SEC.  22.  Be  it  fitrther  enacted,  That  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  inhabitants  of  any  district 
at  their  regular  or  called  meetings  to  make 
ix 


APPENDIX 

such  regulations  for  building  or  repairing 
school  houses  as  they  may  think  necessary 
and  for  furnishing  the  school  house  with  fire 
wood  and  furniture.  They  shall  have  power 
to  class  themselves  and  agree  upon  the  num- 
ber of  days  each  person  or  class  shall  work 
in  making  such  improvements  and  all  other 
regulations  that  they  may  think  necessary 
to  accomplish  such  building  or  improvement. 

Provided,  however,  That  no  person  shall  be 
required  to  do  any  work  or  pay  for  such  ira. 
provements  or  wood  unless  they  have  the 
care  of  a  child  between  the  age  of  five  and 
twenty-one  years  or  unless  he  shall  attend 
the  school  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  in- 
struction and  for  any  neglect  or  refusal  to 
do  such  work  by  any  one  of  the  inhabitants 
according-  to  this  act,  there  shall  be  a  fine 
for  each  day  they  shall  so  neglect  or  refuse 
to  work  of  seventy-five  cents. 

SEC.  23.  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  the 
several  school  collectors  and  treasurers,  who 
may  be  appointed  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  shall  before  they  enter  on  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  their  respective  of- 
fices, enter  into  bond  and  security  in  the 
sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  to  the  county 
commission  of  the  county  in  which  they  re- 
side and  their  successors  in  office,  conditioned 
for  the  faithful  accounting-  for  all  money  re- 
ceived by  them  respectively  under  and  by 
virtue  of  any  authority  conferred  on  them  by 
this  act. 

x 


AFPBNBIX 

SBC.  24.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  when- 
ever the  tax  is  levied  according  to  the  twelfth 
section  of  this  act  in  good  merchantable  pro- 
duce, it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  trustees  te 
•make  out  a  list  with  a  warrant  stating  to  be 
•collected  in  produce  and  they  shall  have  pow- 
er to  transfer  the  list  and  warrant  to  any 
teacher  or  teachers  that  they  may  have  em- 
ployed, who  shall  have  full  power  to  collect 
the  same,  and  if  any  person  shall  refuse  or 
neglect  to  pay  their  respective  amounts  in 
produce  for  two  weeks  after  demand  it  shall 
toe  lawful  to  collect  the  same  in  cash.  Pro- 
vided, that  whenever  there  is  any  disagree- 
ment about  the  price  of  aay  produce  offered 
in  payment  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  to  se- 
lect one  disinterested  housekeeper  to  value 
the  same  and  if  they  cannot  agree  it  shall  be 
their  duty  to  choo*e  a  third  and  all  such  val- 
uation shall  be  binding. 

Approved  January  15,  1825. 

This  Act  was  amended  by  the  act  February 
17,  1827.  Section  3  and  4  are  the  ones  which 
are  essential  to  the  history  of  the  earliest 
schools.  Sec.  3  provided,  The  legal  voters  of 
aay  school  district  at  their  regular  meetings 
shall  have  power  in  their  discretion  to  cause 
•either  the  whole  or  one  half  of  the  sum  re- 
quired to  support  a  school  in  such  district  to 
be  raised  by  taxation  the  remainder  may  be 
required  to  be  paid  by  parents,  master  and 
.guardians  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
persons  which  each  of  them  shall  send  to  such 

school. 

xi 


APPENDIX 

Sec.  4  provided  that  no  person  was  to  be 
taxed  for  the  support  of  free  schools  in  the 
state  unless  by  his  own  fr»e  will  and  con- 
sent first  had  and  obtained  in  writing  and 
unless  he  was  taxed  he  could  not  send  any 
children  to  the  school. 


xil 


APPENDIX 


THE  PEORIA  ACADEMY. 

The  following  is  an  exact  re- 
print of  an  old  catalogue  and  all  of 
it  of  Page's  Academy,  kindly  loan- 
ed for  this  purpose  by  Henry  T. 
Baldwin.  It  is  in  all  probability 
the  only  copy  now  in  existence. 
(This  Catalogue  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  Boys'  Stock 
School.  Page  called  his  school  the 
Peoria  Academy,  because  it  was  the 
first  and  only  academy  at  the  time.) 

CATALOGUE 
PEORIA  ACADEMY 

1840. 

SCHOOL  TRUSTEES 

SAMUKI,  LOWRY, 
JOSEPH  C.  FRYE, 
LEWIS  HOWBU,, 
FRANCIS  VORIS, 
GEORGE  T.  METCAI.FE. 
Teachers  in  Peotia  Academy  during  the  year 
A.  D.  1840. 

REV.  DAVID  PAGE,  Principal, 
MRS.  HANNAH  B.  PAGE, 
Miss  MARY  I/.  BOARDMAN. 

xlii 


MALE  DEPARTMENT. 

William  Alte'r  James  S.  Davis? 

James  F.  Anderson       Robert  R.  Davi® 
Carneal  Armstrong'       Charles  Davis 
Long  worth  Armstrong  Reuben  Davis 
Lewis  K.  Armstrong    William  O.  Dewey 
Wm.  P.  Armstrong 
Peter  C.  Fartlett 
George  Blakeley 
Hermon  Blakeley 
John  M.  Blakeley 


James  Blakeley 
Daniel  Banvard 
John  Burnheisel 


Joseph  Ellis 
Benjamin  Ellis 
Watson  M.  Evans 
James  W.  Evans 
D.  W.  C.  Farrell 
Hiram  G.  Farrell! 
Henry  Forsyth 
James  Fbrsyth 


Cornelius  Burnheisel  George  Fbtd 


John:  CaMweB 
Jerome  H.  Case 
Johnson  L.  Cole 
George  Cone 
Charles-  Cook 
Frederic  Cook 
Joshua  Gushing: 
James  Gushing 
John  Gushing 
George  Gushing 
Southwick  Davis 
H  K.  W.  Davis 
John  C.  Hardesty 
Dixon  Hardesty 
Anderson  Hardesty 
Abijah  Hunt 
F.  W.  L.  Buntoon 
Marcellus  Hun  toon- 
John  Huntoon 
Isaac  D.  Huntcon 


James  Fowler 
Francis  Fowler 
James  Frye 
William  Gaines 
Reay  Gaskill 
Cyrus  Gaskill 
Samuel   H.    GaskiliE 
Joseph  Glaze 
layman  Hall 
John  Hall 
Thomas  Hardesty 
Henry  Hardesty 
Daniel  E.  Oakley 
Henry  S.  Phillips- 
William  Phillips 
Francis  Phillips 
Benjamin  F.  Pierce 
Daniel  Kaney 
Isaac  Raney 
David  B.  Reynolds, 

xiv 


APPENDIX 


Wm.  J.  Harrington 
Jerome  C.  Hawley 
James  Heaton 
Ferdinand  Heyl 
Michael  R.  Hughes 
Theodore  Keller 
Henry  C.  King 
Charles  Knowlton 
Henry  Little 
James  C.  Lindsay 
Samuel  Lowry 
Wm.  J.  Lowry 
William  Lowry 
William  J.  Mason 
Albert  M'Clellan 
James  M'Coy 
Alonzo  Nurse    * 
Horatio  G.  Nurse 
Edw.  F.  Nowland 
William  M.  Oakford 


William  Reynolds 
Sanford  Richardson 
Erasm.  D.  Richardson 
Anastus  Robin 
Jacob  H.  Slough 
Wm.  A.  Schlotman 
William  Shores 
Wiley  Sigler 
Enoch  Sigler 
Jacob  Sigler 
Leonard  Summers 
John  Summers 
Jonathan  Sweet 
James  Taylor 
Andrew  J.  Tuller 
Elam  Tuller 
James  Thomas 
Francis  Upshaw 
Albert  Zieber 

Males  107 


FEMALE   DEPARTMENT 


Catharine  Beck 
Elizabeth  Banvard 
Susan  Bartlett 
Catharine  Bettleton 
Ellen  Brady 
Allah  Ann  Buckley 
Amanda  Caldwell 
Catharine  Cook 
Mary  Cunningham 
Sarah  Gushing 
Augusta  A.  Davis 
Melinda  Dewey 
Sarah  Dewey 


Elisabeth  Blakeley 
Hester  Ann  Bice 
Sarah  M.  Bice 
Sarah  Brestle 
Elizabeth  Markley 
Sarah  J.  Martin 
Marion  Oakford 
Marion  Oakley 
Hannah  L.  Page 
Mary  E.  Page 
Hannah  J.  Pettengill 
Sarah  F.  Pettengill 
Ann  Eliza  Phillips 


APPENDIX 


Isadore  E.  Edwards 
Catharine  Farrell 
Mary  Jane  Forsyth 
Alicia  Forsyth 
Elizabeth  Fisher 
Mary  Gaines 
Eliza  Gaines 
Phebe  L.  Gardner 
Caroline  Gibson 
Mary  Gray 
Martha  Hardesty 
Madora  Hall 
Cecilia  Hill 
Helen  A.  Heaton 
Susan  Huntoon 
Hannah  Hyde 
Elsey  Jane  Justice 
Anna  Maria  Knight 
Sarah  A.  Kellar 
Margaret  A.  Kenney 
Elizabeth  Knowlton 
Mary  Kingsley 
America  Leadley 
Jane  Lindsay 
Cynthia  B.  Lindsay 
Rebecca  Lowry 


Rebecca  Pollock 
Maria  L.  Proctor 
Juliet  Richardson 
Lucinda   Richardson 
L/ydia  Rogers 
Margaret  Rouse 
Amelia  Ann  Rouse 
Martha  Rouse 
Diana  Sanford 
Catherine  Slough 
Cynthia  Sharp 
Mary  G.  Stearns 
Jane  A.  Tagart 
Mary  R.  Tagart 
Harriet  Taylor 
Georgianna  Taylor 
Matilda  Thomas 
Catharine  Tuller 
Melissa  Upshaw 
Narcissa  Ann  Upshaw 
Phebe  J.  Welch 
Jane  Weis 
Mary  Woodworth 
Celestia  Woodruff 
Eugenia  Zieber 

Females          77 


SUMMARY. 


MALES     - 
FEMALES 


107 

77 


TOTAL 184 

TERMS. 

The  academical  year  is  divided  into  two 
sessions  of  twenty-four  weeks  each,  to  com- 
mence the  first  Mondays  in  January  and 

July. 

xvi 


APPENDIX 

Tuition  for  12  weeks,    -    -    $4.00 
No  deduction  for  absence. 
The  Principal  of  the  institution  would  ex- 
press thanks  for  past  favors,  while  he  solicits 
future  patronage. 

DAVID  PAGE,  Principal. 
PEORIA  ACADEMY  ) 
Dec.  24,  1840.       f 


WESLEYAN  SEMINARY. 

The  following  pages  contain  a 
copy  of  an  old  Programme  of  the 
Graduation  Exercises  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  Seminary,  the  first  and  last 
held  by  that  school.  It  was  kindly 
loaned  by  Henry  T.  Baldwin  and 
is  believed  to  be  the  only  copy  in 
existence: 


xvii 


APPKNDIX 


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xxi 


APPENDIX 


PEORIA  ACADEMY. 

HISTORY. 

The  Peoria  Academy  originated  in  a  de- 
sire, on  the  part  of  a  number  of  citizens  of 
Peoria,  to  have  a  school,  for  males,  more 
thorough  in  its  teachings  and  more  perma- 
nent in  its  character  than  existed  in  the  city. 
Accordingly,  stock  was  created  to  purchase 
a  site,  and  to  build  thereon  an  edifice  larg-e 
enough  to  accommodate  one  hundred  and 
forty  students.  The  shares  were  first  put  at 
forty  dollars,  subsequently  increased  to 
fifty,  and  finally  to  sixty  dollars  each. 
Messrs.  Hansel  and  Bartlett  drew  up  the 
paper  and  circulated  it  for  subscription. 

At  the  first  meeting-  of  the  share-holders, 
holden  in  Haskell's  Hall,  Hon.  Onslow  Peters 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  J.  A.  McCoy  was 
elected  Secretary.  On  motion,  A.  P.Bartletti 
E}.  N.  Powell  and  J.  W.  Hansel  were  appoint- 
ed a  committee  to  prepare  articles  of  associa- 
tion; J.  Gale,  H.  J.  Sweeny,  C.  S.  Clarke,  C. 
Ballance  and  W.  F.  Bryan  to  inquire  in  rela- 
tion to  a  location;  and  J.  Johnston,  H.  G. 
Anderson  and  A.  P,  Bartlett  to  report  apian 
for  a  school  house. 

xxii 


APPENDIX 

On  the  23d  of  March,  1854,  the  share- 
holders again  met,  received  and  adopted  the 
report  of  their  committee  to  draft  articles  of 
association,  and  elected  the  following  offi- 
cers:— 

HON.  ONSLOW  PETERS,  President. 

A.  P.  BARTLETT,  Secretary. 

R.  ROUSE,  ) 

P.  R  K.  BROTHERSON  \  Directors. 

J.  W.  HANSEL,  ) 

H.  G.  ANDERSON,  Treasurer. 

THOMAS  BALDWIN,  ) 

WM.  R.  PHELPS,      \  Trustees. 

H.  S.  AUSTIN,          \ 

At  a  subsequent  meeting,  "For  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  upon  a  location  for  a 
school  house.'*  Capt.  Sweeny,  in  behalf  of 
the  committee,  reported  in  favor  of  purchas- 
ing lots  10,  11  and  12,  block  47,  in  Monson  & 
Sanford's  addition  to  the  city  of  Peoria.  On 
motion  of  W.  Loucks,  the  report  was  adopted 
and  the  committee  discharged.  The  build- 
ing committee,  Messrs.  Bourland,  Ulricson, 
Sweeny,  Hazzard  and  Bartlett,  employed 
Charles  Ulricson  as  architect,  and  contract- 
ed with  Preston  &  Brooks  to  erect  a  build- 
ing, and  with  Joseph  L/.  Ross,  of  Boston, 
Mass.,  and  Dredge,  Keys  &  Co..  of  this  city, 
to  furnish  it. 

Cost  of  the  site $1800.00 

Cost  of  building,  furniture,  etc. . .  6200.00 

Total, $8000.00 

xxili 


APPENDIX 

The  edifice  was  dedicated  by  appropriate 
ceremonies,  and  an  elaborate  address  from 
the  President.  On  the  morning-  of  the  27th 
of  November,  1854,  one  hundred  students, 
having  received  certificates,  were  admitted 
to  the  school,  and  took  their  seats.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hovey  appeared  as  teachers,  and  a 
large  number  of  parents  were  present  at  the 
opening  ceremonies  of  the  institution.  The 
principal  held  a  parley  with  the  students, 
touching  little  matters  and  observances, 
which  it  was  no  great  honor  to  know  and 
observe,  but  yet  quite  a  dishonor  not  to  know 
and  observe.  Perfection  is  made  up  of  tri- 
fles, but  is  itself  no  trifle.  The  President 
also  made  some  fitting  remarks,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  A.  P.  Bartlett  and  J.  P.  Hotchkiss. 
After  the  school  had  been  in  operation  a  few 
days,  nineteen  other  students  were  admitted 
and  two  additional  teachers  employed. 


NAMES  OF  STOCKHOLDERS. 

H.  G.  Anderson,  John  Anderson, 

J.  C.  Armstrong,  Henry  S.  Austin, 

Charles  Ballance,  Thomas  Baldwin, 

G.  T.  Barker,  Amos  P.  Bartlett, 

George  C.  Bestor,  Charles  P,  Billon, 

Edward  Bohanan,  Charles  Bonney, 

B.  L.  T.  Bourland,  P.  R.  K.  Brotherson, 
W.  F.  Bryan,  S.  H.  &  G.  Burnett, 
Samuel  H.  Calhoun,  Marvin  S.  Carr, 

C.  S.  Clarke,  S.  S.  Clarke, 
Joseph  Clegg,  Washington  Cockle, 

xxiv 


APPENDIX 


E.  M.  Colburn, 
P.  M.  Comegys, 
N.  B.  Curtiss, 
William  H.  Davis, 
V.  Dewein, 
John  Dredge, 
Geuel  Ely, 
Jacob  Gale, 
William  S.  Gregg-, 
Matthew  L,.  Griswold, 
Warren  Hall, 
A.  C.  Hankinson, 
William  H.  Haskell, 
Ephraim  Hintnan, 
Joshua  P.  Hotchkiss, 
E.  G.  Johnson, 
Charles  Kettelle, 
Theodore  Lawrence, 
Wellington  lyoucks, 
Julius  Manning, 
William  E.  Mason, 
J.  A.  McCoy, 
Thomas  C.  Moore, 
James  F.  Murden, 
O.  C.  Parmely, 
William  Peters, 
William  R.  Phelps, 
ElihuN.  Powell, 
E.  A.  Proctor, 
Rudolphus  Rouse, 
Enoch  P.  Sloan, 
J.  McClay  Smith, 
H.  J.  Sweeny, 
Alexander  G.  Tyng, 
Isaac  Underbill, 


Jona.  K.  Cooper, 
Jas.  Crawley, 
James  Daugherty, 
Thomas  I/.  Davis, 
T.  S.  Dobbins, 
Jacob  Darst, 
Smith  Frye, 
Charles  Greenleaf, 
Richard  Gregg, 
William  Hale, 
Ralph  Hamlin, 
John  W.  Hansel, 
James  Hazzard, 
John  Hinzey, 
Norman  Howe, 
John  Johnston, 
Charles  P.  King, 
John  L/indsay, 
Tim.  L/ynch, 
Thomas  L,.  Mayne, 
John  McClallen, 
G.  C.  McFadden, 
Henry  Morell, 
E.  F.  Nowland, 
Onslow  Peters, 
Moses  Pettengill, 
Thomas  J.  Pickett, 
B.  P.  Pratt, 
George  N.  Remington, 
H.  I.  Rugg, 
Job  Smith, 
George  Spurck, 
William  Truesdale, 
Charles  Ulricson, 
Samuel  Voris, 


APPENDIX 

T.  Wagener,  I.  Walker, 

Horatio  N.  Wheeler,     Michael  Yost. 

TRANSFERS— T.  Wagener  to  A.  Frank, 
W.  Cockle  to  Mrs.  Thompson,  Wellington 
Ixmcks  to  J.  Tapping-,  Jacob  Darst  to  Ralph 
Hamlin. 

OFFICERS  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Hon.  Onslow  Peters,  President. 
A.  P.  Bartlett,  Secretary. 
Rudolphus  Rouse,  M.  D. 
P.  R.  K.  Brotherson. 
J.  W.  Hansel. 

OFFICERS  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

Chas.  E.  Hovey,  A.  B.,  Principal. 

Mrs.  C.  E.  Hovey,  First  Assistant. 

C.  H.  Doty,  Second  Assistant. 

Anna  E.  Kilburne,  Third  Assistant. 

Dr.  J.  Niglas,  L,L<.  D.,  Instructor  in  German. 

T.  M.  Higgins,  Instructor  in  Vocal  Music. 

Elizabeth  Smith,  Assistant.  Winter  Term. 

Sophia  L/alanne,  Assistant,  Winter  Term. 

STUDENTS. 

Adams  Chester,  Armstrong  Charles, 

Armstrong  L<ewis,  Armstrong  James, 

Austin  Richard  H.,  Austin  Thaddeus  R., 

Austin,  Charles  S.,  Baldwin  William  J., 
Baldwin  Franklin  T.,  Barker  Walter  T., 

Bartlett  Samuel  C.,  Bentley    Edward    N., 

Bestor  George  L.,  Billon  Francis  C., 

Bohanan  Major  G.,  Boilvin  William  F., 

Boyd  John  S.,  Boyle  Matthew, 

Brokaw  Frederic  Brotherson  Philip 

XXTl 


APPENDIX 


Callender  Eliot, 
Carr  George  H., 
Clegg  Joseph  A., 
Colburn  Walter  P., 
Cornwell  Edward  E., 
Creighton  John  M., 
Crawley  Eadron 
Chadwick  Henry, 
Davis  Robert  S,, 
Dodge  Loring, 
Dudley  Ethelbert  L-, 
Ely  Edwin  C., 
Eynatten  Frederic, 
Frank  August, 
Frink  George  M., 
Frye  Smith,  Jr., 
Frye  Chastain  S., 
Gilbert  Aaron  F., 
Gregg  Robert  J., 
Gregg  Samuel  T., 
Gray  William  H., 
Hankinson  A.  C. 
Hamlin  George 
Haskell  Joseph  E., 
Haslett  John, 
Hinds  George  E., 
Hotchkiss  Jay  P., 
Hotchkiss  James  M., 
Hotchkiss  Walter  B., 
Irons  Charles  D., 
Johnson  Samuel  M., 
Johnson  Austin, 
Kettelle  George  H., 
Kettelle  Edwin  S., 
Lawrence  Romeo, 
Lindsay  James  A., 


Calhoun  Samuel  A., 
Clark  Sutnner, 
Chambers  Perry 
Chambers  Francis  M., 
Cornwell  Millard  C., 
Creighton  David 
Childs  H.  F., 
Chadwick  Charles  A., 
Daugherty  James  P., 
Dredge  Henry  W., 
Durst  Edwin  S., 
Ewalt  Henry, 
Ford  George  S., 
Fields  Charles  H., 
Frye  Henry  A  , 
Frye  James  K., 
Gale  Edward, 
Glaenzer  Philip  J., 
Gregg,  W.  S.,  Jr., 
Gustorf  Frederic, 
Hansel  Jacob  C., 
Hankinson  John  K., 
Hamlin  Charles 
Haskell  Charles  E., 
Hazzard  Joseph  F., 
Hinze,  Elias  C., 
Hotchkiss  M.  V., 
Kurd  Charles  T., 
Littleton  A.  W., 
Irons  Henry  F., 
Johnson  Alexander 
Johnston  John, 
Kettelle  Charles  A., 
Kirkman  John 
Lineback  Boyd, 
Lindsay,  William  P., 


APPENDIX 


Mason  Richard, 
Mayne  Georg-e  A., 
May  William, 
Metcalfe  Charles  F., 
McClallen  George  H. 
McCoy  William  D., 
M'Culloh  Robert  L,., 
Morell  Henry  F., 
Mueller  George  H 
Mull  Julius  C.. 
Oakford  Edward. 
Peters  Eug-ene  P.. 
Pickett  Horace  G., 
Powell  Charles  F.. 
Preston  Thomas  E., 
Purple  Frank. 
Rugg  Arthur  H., 
Remington  Philip  H. 
Rouse  Henry  B., 
Shelly  William  K., 
Spurck  Henry, 
Swayze  Ambrose, 
Taber  Charles, 
Tapping-  Samuel  P., 
Thompson  Samuel  E 
Voris  Richard  R., 
Ward  James, 
Weis  John  C., 
Wheeler  Portius  C., 
Wood  John  C., 
Yost  John, 

Mary  T.  Hotchkiss.* 
Annie  E.  Kidder. 


McCoy  Ivindsay, 
May  Rodney, 
Maxwell  Henry, 
Metcalfe  George  T., 
McClallen  Henry  W., 
M'Culloh  Thomas  G., 
Moore  Thomas  H., 
Mueller  George  F., 
Mueller  William, 
Noyes  Alfred  S., 
Oakford  Aaron  S., 
Peters  William, 
Pickett  George  B., 
Powell  William  H., 
Purple  William, 
Raney  George  B., 
Richardson  Charles  A. 

,  Remington  George 
Rouse  Rudolphus, 
Smith  Theodore, 
Spurck  Albert 
Sweeny  Rudolphus  E., 
Taber  James, 
Thompson  James  B., 

,  Truesdale  William, 
Voris  Robert  C., 
Wagener  Charles, 
Wheaton  L/oyd, 
Wheeler  Charles  R., 
Wood  Gilbert  E., 
Yost  Daniel  Z., 


*  Ladies  are  admitted  for  the  study  of  the  Classics 
only. 

xxviii 


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